Software Reviews

by Nicholas

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
Win (All)

Conflicting with OpenOffice

AbiWord version 2.8.1

Interface: 3
Features: 1
Ease of use: 2
Value: 3
Overall:

I tried almost every version of Abiword, in Windows as well as in Linux. And always there was that nasty incompatibility with OpenOffice. Abi cannot handle docs from OO with pictures, tables, etc. Abi may be nice for simple docs but I'll stick to OO.

Review date: Nov 01, 2009

Freeware
2000/XP/Vista

Very neat program

PeaZip version 2.7

Interface: 5
Features: 4
Ease of use: 4
Value: 5
Overall:

I tried almost every zip/unzip utility but this one stole my heart. PeaZip offers all the functionality you need to pack/unpack files and folders. Besides that there much more. PeaZip does its work fast, secure and reliable. Also important: it's free. Highly recommended.

Review date: Sep 17, 2009

Freeware
XP/2003/Vista/7

What's the use?

Auslogics Registry Cleaner version 1.5.12

Interface: 4
Features: 3
Ease of use: 3
Value: 3
Overall:

This Registry cleaner found and corrected more than 700 'problems' in my registry. Good feeling? Not quite. After the scan, [...] registry cleaner found another 400 problems.

Review date: Aug 28, 2009

Freeware
2000/XP/Vista

Not too bad but...

Digital Clip Factory version 1.3

Interface: 3
Features: 1
Ease of use: 3
Value: 3
Overall:

Digital Clip Factory does the job but a wmf-file (zooming video with underlying pre recorded sound) is all there is. High quality pictures from modern digital cameras will show up unsharp in quasi moving wmf video. Hardly a presentation to be proudly presented.

Review date: Aug 18, 2009

Freeware
98/ME/2000/XP/2003/Vista

Small, simple, useful

File Shredder version 2.0

Interface: 4
Features: 5
Ease of use: 5
Value: 5
Overall:

Use this freeware little gem to really get rid of sensitive and/or private files. It's straightforward, functional and very easy to use. Total learning time: 3 seconds.

Review date: Aug 15, 2009

Freeware
2000/XP/Vista/7

Really amazing

Androsa FileProtector version 1.4.4

Interface: 4
Features: 5
Ease of use: 4
Value: 5
Overall:

Everybody has files and/or folders for his eyes only. Hide and encrypt are mandatory. There are little programs that are useful in this respect but Androsa FileProtector is one of them. The only one if you ask me. It encrypts and decrypts password-protected files and folders with astonishing speed, using no less than a 256 bit AES algorithm. It even compiles self-extracting zip of exe files. Best of all: it's free. A very fine program!

Review date: May 14, 2009

Freeware
2000/XP/Vista/7

Versatile and looking good

Q-Dir version 3.47

Interface: 3
Features: 4
Ease of use: 4
Value: 4
Overall:

After PowerDesk, FreeCommander and many other file managers I like Q-dir best. It is versatile and user friendly. And it is looking good. Fun to work with. A great help to fight chaos in an ever growing and complex file system. Recommended!

Review date: May 11, 2009

Freeware
Win XP

Not perfect

Mz Ultimate Tweaker for XP version 5.6

Interface: 2
Features: 4
Ease of use: 3
Value: 3
Overall:

I uninstalled Mz Ultimate Tweaker after the program failed to backup the registry for the second time. Results: system hangs.

Review date: Sep 09, 2008

Freeware
98/ME/2000/XP/2003/Vista

Fast, reliable

Wise Disk Cleaner Free version 3.3.0

Interface: 3
Features: 4
Ease of use: 5
Value: 5
Overall:

Very useful. Helps you to keep your logical drives clean and... fast. Recommended.

Review date: May 23, 2008

Freeware
2000/XP/Vista

Very reliable

DriveImage XML (Private Edition) version 1.21

Interface: 4
Features: 5
Ease of use: 5
Value: 5
Overall:

I installed and used it to backup (clone) my valuable C-drive to DVD RW. A big job well done! The program is very robust, transparent, reliable and efficient. It clones entire logical drives sector by sector. Then it lets you restore not only the entire drive but separate directories or files as well. Highly recommended.

Review date: Aug 09, 2007

Freeware
98/ME/2000/XP/Vista

Nice and powerful

UltraExplorer version 1.3.2

Interface: 4
Features: 5
Ease of use: 3
Value: 5
Overall:

One of the very best file managers I've ever met. Packed with functionality, very fast and very accurate. Due to the abundance of functions it takes some time and practice to master it. Very powerful is the Column-display mode: The whole complicated system within reach. I use UltraExplorer with pleasure and I recommend it as one of the best.

Review date: Apr 09, 2007

Freeware
98/ME/2000/XP/2003

Beats them all

FolderViewer version 4.6

Interface: 5
Features: 5
Ease of use: 4
Value: 5
Overall:

After using several file commanders and managers for quite a while like Freecommander, Filecommander, Power Desk, 2xExplorer etc. I finally found the one and only. FolderViewer gives me total command over the Windows filesystem but also over XP's system utils and programs. There is even a built-in web browser. This Dutch program is functional, versatile, neat, reliable and: free. Highly recommended.

Review date: Mar 30, 2007

Free Trial ($29.00)
2000/XP/2003/Vista

Excellent indeed

AVS Audio CD Creator version 3.7.2.7

Interface: 5
Features: 5
Ease of use: 5
Value: 5
Overall:

This is a no-nonsense, to the point converter that does what it stands for. In my case: without problems burn favourite podcasts to CD R(W). Neat and quickly. And free! Recommended!

Review date: Mar 02, 2007

Freeware
98/ME/2000/XP/2003/Vista

Very useful utility

Eusing Free Registry Cleaner version 1.25

Interface: 3
Features: 5
Ease of use: 5
Value: 5
Overall:

I do not like registries. They are ugly, huge, complicated and to be honest: they scare the hell out of me. No program may touch my registry but after reading the user reviews here I decided to take the risk of cleaning. After the first scan Eusing Cleaner reported more than 1.000 errors! Then I jumped into the deep and ordered to fix them all. And that is just what it did. A reboot convinced me that Eusing FRC had done a wonderful job. This program is free, neat and fast. And more important: safe and trustworthy. Do not be afraid: Use it!

Review date: Jan 13, 2007

Freeware
Win (All)

Works... but...

StartRight version 1.3.3

Interface: 2
Features: 2
Ease of use: 2
Value: 1
Overall:

Yes, it works but... StartRight does not work as promised. It slows down my startup sequence considerably. I clocked it: 2 minutes and 19 seconds with StartRight and 1 minute and 37 seconds without it. If you have to switch frequently between Windows and Linux StartRight is an annoyance.

Review date: Jan 08, 2007

Freeware
Win (All)

Does a wonderful job

SimpleOCR

Interface: 2
Features: 5
Ease of use: 4
Value: 5
Overall:

I had to convert some paper text from an old booklet to text for a website and tried some OCR shareware programs in vain. I was about to give up but just in time I decided to give the freeware prog SimpleOCR one try. That was enough. I had my text file in a few minutes. And what's more the program assisted me spell checking in the Dutch language. Very satisfying! Recommended.

Review date: Oct 06, 2006

Freeware
Win (All)

Beats all other browsers

Opera version 9.02

Interface: 5
Features: 5
Ease of use: 4
Value: 5
Overall:

I installed them all: Avant, Firefox, Netscape, IE, E2, etc. Now, after I installed and enjoyed Opera 9.02, I UNinstalled them all and became an Opera addict. What a browser! Fast. Complete. And full of fun! Why hesitate? Download, install and be happy.

Review date: Oct 01, 2006

Freeware
98/ME/2000/XP

Simple and very fast

Saintly Folder Zipper version 1.0.1.13

Interface: 3
Features: 3
Ease of use: 5
Value: 5
Overall:

I tried them all and I killed or uninstalled them all. But finally I found in this Saintly Folder Zipper what I have been looking for all that time: a simple, nononense, reliable, good looking, zipping backup utility to DVD and CD RWs. But best of all Saintly is fast. Very fast. My website of more than 450 MB is zipped and stored in less than 4 minutes where others let me wait until I die. Best choice!

Review date: Mar 26, 2006

Freeware
Win (All)

Perfect program

Easy Thumbnails version 2.8

Interface: 4
Features: 5
Ease of use: 5
Value: 5
Overall:

I had a problem. I needed 25 neat thumbnails for my website right away. I downloaded Easy Thumbnails, installed it and after two or three mouse clicks I had my 25 thumbnails. Problem solved. In less than 2 minutes. Perfect program, see for yourself!

Review date: Sep 01, 2005

Freeware
Win (All)

Have my doubts

SpywareBlaster version 3.4

Interface: 2
Features: 1
Ease of use: 3
Value: 2
Overall:

SpywareBlaster is on my system for a long time now, doing nothing but consuming memory. Does it work? I wonder. Is it effective? I have my doubts. After an outbreak of new nasty spyware I expect it will download an updated reference file immediately. It does not. Day after day it keeps telling me that I have the latest update. Not very reassuring in an ugly world that changes continuously.

Review date: Aug 25, 2005

Freeware
2000/XP

All-in-one

XP Syspad version 6.2

Interface: 4
Features: 5
Ease of use: 3
Value: 5
Overall:

This utility is great because it comprises everything! I use it every day and with pleasure. ALL WinXP functions, services and info just one or two clicks away. Disk frag? Control Panel? Admin? Sys? .Net? Programs? You name it, it's right there under one of the eight popup menus. XP Syspad deserves it to be always on top. It requires 6 MB of memory but deserves it.

Review date: Aug 20, 2005

Freeware
98/ME/2000/XP/Vista

Disappointing

Thunderbird version 1.0

Interface: 4
Features: 1
Ease of use: 2
Value: 2
Overall:

I found Thunderbird mail client rather unstable. It confronts me with bug reports. Several times it let me down after composing new messages. And another thing: 13 MB is a lot of expensive mem and waiting 12 secs to show up is a lot of time. Calypso on the other hand asks no more than 2 MB and shows up in less than 4 secs. Sorry: Thumb down.

Review date: Aug 17, 2005

Freeware
Win (All)

Private fort knox

KeePass (Classic Edition) version 1.00

Interface: 4
Features: 4
Ease of use: 5
Value: 5
Overall:

Yes! This is the one! After trying a few other (awkward) password keepers I discovered KeePass and found out quickly that this program is useful, reliable, user friendly and very safe. It reveals passwords and other secrets only for a very short time on the clipboard, just long enough to paste it into a waiting password field. From now on I never have to click buttons with texts like: Forget Password? Very valuable and free!

Review date: Aug 15, 2005

Freeware
Win (All)

Better than firefox

Netscape Navigator version 8.0.3.1

Interface: 5
Features: 4
Ease of use: 3
Value: 4
Overall:

I gave Netscpae V.8.01 a try after Firefox V.1.0.6 confronted me with fatal errors and confused my system. Netscape did a better job. Far more reliable. No bugs. No errors. Netscape has more functionality as well like the latest news from Snapfiles in my RSS Newsbar. But to be honest: Firefox is faster downloading pages and filling tabs so the choice between the two is sometimes difficult.

Review date: Aug 05, 2005

Freeware
98/ME/2000/XP/2003/Vista

Small, neat and beautiful

Pablo Commander version 1.4

Interface: 4
Features: 4
Ease of use: 5
Value: 5
Overall:

I used all available file commanders: Norton, ExplorerXP, FreeCommander, A43 and PowerDesk included but Pablo quickly became my daily factotum. It is small, simple, intuitive, neat, fast, reliable and straightforward. It lacks useless bells and whistles. It can be mastered in less than five minutes. No install, so take it or kill it. I will bet you leave it. One small drawback: Pablo always comes up full screen. It cannot remember its last windows size but one can live with that.

Review date: Jul 24, 2005

Freeware
98/ME/2000/XP

So nice but complicated

Newzie version 0.9.9 .1 Beta

Interface: 5
Features: 4
Ease of use: 1
Value: 3
Overall:

A very good looking RSS atom news reader with lots of nice colorful extras. I like the ticker tape and the built-in web browser. Newzie performs automatic updates on subscribed RSS feeds during startup. I wonder if this version is still Beta. No real bugs but lots of imperfections. The overall file structure is rather complicated. It will take many users lots of time to fully understand the big idea behind this program. Nice but not too user friendly.

Review date: Jul 03, 2005

Freeware
98/ME/2000/XP

Crashed my system

Fast Defrag Standard version 2.29

Interface: 3
Features: 3
Ease of use: 2
Value: 2
Overall:

In a heavy used system with only 512 MB of memory Fast Defrag tries very (maybe too) hard to balance between memory and cache. It frees lots of mem on its fly indeed, but it panicked and lost its balance completely when a very large file was zipped for backup. It crashed my system. I had to look for a reset button to reclaim the system, repair the damage and take Fast Defrag off-line for ever.

Review date: Jun 23, 2005

Freeware
98/ME/2000/XP/Vista

Nice but too small

Vista NetMail version 8.3

Interface: 4
Features: 2
Ease of use: 3
Value: 3
Overall:

Netmail has all the features and benefits a good email client should have, except one. This version lets you install only one account. Only one! For this reason it is limited to the small user. Of the many email clients I used up to now only Calypso survived.

Review date: Jun 21, 2005

Freeware
98/2000/XP/2003/Vista/7

Safe feeling

avast! Home Edition version 4.6.665

Interface: 2
Features: 5
Ease of use: 3
Value: 5
Overall:

This is the very best virus finder and protector I have ever used. It performs far better than all others, McAfee and Norton included. Email protection is no less than excellent. However, the game-like user interface could be better. After installation Avast discovered and eliminated three trojans which 'the others' never noticed. I think I experience a good feeling: safety.

Review date: Jun 10, 2005

Freeware
Win (All)

Nice, easy, useful and... free

EssentialPIM Free version 1.5.2

Interface: 4
Features: 4
Ease of use: 5
Value: 4
Overall:

EssentialPIM is an excellent stand alone alternative to the calendar of MS Outlook. All useful calendar functions are available, Address book, ToDo, Alarms, Contacts and editor included. I like the nice looking user interface. A pleasure to work with. On a daily basis, of course.

Review date: Jun 09, 2005

Free Trial ($29.95)
2000/XP/Vista/7

Fakeware?

SoftCAT version 2.01

Interface: 3
Features: 1
Ease of use: 2
Value: 1
Overall:

After I found out that this freeware database doesn't provide me with an auto catalogue feature I immediately de-installed the program. This free version demands that you enter all relevant data of your installed software manually. Only the paid-for 'Pro' version has what a database is supposed to have. This is fakeware. It even lacks a neat UNinstall. Not recommended!

Review date: May 25, 2005

Freeware
98/ME/2000/XP/2003/Vista

A beauty!

FastStone Image Viewer version 2.0.5

Interface: 5
Features: 5
Ease of use: 3
Value: 5
Overall:

Of all the many image management programs I tried, this is the one and only to use. It's fast, reliable, versatile. It is simply a joy to work with so many features. After months I still discover new possibilities. All other programs in this FastStone series are highly recommendable as well. It's true: the best things in life are free!

Review date: May 04, 2005

Freeware
98/ME/2000/XP

Very good but...

Mail Box Dispatcher version 2.20

Interface: 2
Features: 4
Ease of use: 4
Value: 5
Overall:

Mail Box Dispatcher performs very well as a front end for your mail account(s). It monitors and lets you manage your incoming mail. Thumb up! However, it uses a very small font and I can't change that so I have to use spectacles (...). It also doesn't remember how I changed the dimensions of its Window. Programmer(s): Look at it, please!

Review date: Apr 29, 2005

Freeware
98/ME/2000/XP

Better than mailwasher

PopTray version 3.03

Interface: 4
Features: 5
Ease of use: 5
Value: 5
Overall:

PopTray lets you manage your POP3 server perfectly. Where the freeware version of Mailwasher only permits one mail account, PopTray allows many. It's installed very easily. It sits on the background (Systray) watching, warning and serving you when it lets you view all incoming new messages. Then it's up to you to let new messages come to your mail client or kill them safely on the server. Perfect program! Goodbye Mailwasher!

Review date: Mar 04, 2005

Freeware
Win (All)

No good!

PP MailCheck version 2.1

Interface: 1
Features: 1
Ease of use: 1
Value: 1
Overall:

Sorry, this program doesn't do what it promisses to do. It cannot always display the contents of messages on the mailserver. Deleting messages seems buggy and results in erratic error messages when more messages must be killed. In my case it let spam and virus carrying messages through. Right after this incident I killed these messages and... PP Mailcheck.

Review date: Mar 04, 2005

Freeware
2000/XP/Vista

Real management tool

Process Explorer version 9.0

Interface: 4
Features: 4
Ease of use: 3
Value: 4
Overall:

A computer management tool par excellence! Process Explorer offers me a total view over all running and active processes and allows me to intervene or to kill malfunctioning processes with a mouse click. I now see and know everything. In this way I avoid system crashes and the use of the reset button. Highly recommended!

Review date: Feb 18, 2005

Freeware
2000/XP/2003/Vista

Yes! freecommander

FreeCommander version 2004.10b

Interface: 4
Features: 5
Ease of use: 3
Value: 4
Overall:

Download it! Install it! Use it! Master it! Enjoy it!

Review date: Jan 07, 2005

Freeware
98/ME/2000/XP/2003/Vista

I like it

Dexpot version 1.2.7

Interface: 4
Features: 5
Ease of use: 5
Value: 5
Overall:

Very versatile! A pleasure to work with! Dexpot augments very much the potential of Windows, XP in particular. It is precisely what Windows itself lacks! Freeware, so thank you programmers for this useful gift.

Review date: Jul 07, 2004

Dexpot

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Spytech SpyAgent

A powerful monitoring solution to record PC activity, including keystrokes, email and more.

Demo Builder

Create interactive Flash movies and tutorials to show how applications and systems work