This page has nothing to do with wine or the Bracksco business!  With 35 years experience in computers and software, Bracksco owner Fred Brack has some OPINIONS about what makes life with computers safer and easier.  I get no referral fees for any link you click, and I use all these items on my Windows-based computer personally, most of them for years.  Just click the logos or links for more information.  This list is under development and will be enhanced.  (Please note -- this is not a link-exchange page.  I list only what I use, and there are no reciprocal links.  Please don't ask to be added!)

Great FREE Software
Great Low Cost Software
E-Magazines and Newsletters
Great Websites
Computer Security
Internet Explorer Tips

Great FREE Software

	The Google Toolbar is a popup stopper and search bar all in one, taking up only one line at the top of your browser.  Plus it (optionally) stores fields like your name and address to automatically fill in web forms.  The popup stopper really works well, too!
	Imagine just clicking on any word on any screen in any program to get its definition.  That's the primary feature of Answers.com; but you can also get synonyms, translations to other languages, and more!
StartupMonitor	Mike Lin has published several nice freeware programs, but the one I won't live without is his StartupMonitor.  This small program starts automatically every time you boot and sits in the background, checking to see if any program tries to register itself to run automatically the next time you reboot.  You can accept or reject the attempt.  You may just save yourself from some malicious software intrusion on your PC!
HandyFind	The HandyFind utility lets you find words in web pages and documents as you type, easily finding subsequent occurrences with a single keystroke.  You don't have to remember the "Find" shortcut for a particular program or deal with a dialog box that overlays part of your document -- it works practically everywhere.
	Ad-aware is probably the best known free software tool for detecting spyware and adware.  You owe it to yourself to run this every month (don't forget to push the "Check for Updates" button when you do, though).
	This product has found stuff that Ad-aware missed, although it is harder to complete the removal process.  If you are troubled by pop-up ads and products taking over your browser's home page or internal search engine, you'll be amazed at the wealth of info you'll find here in the Bazooka Spyware Scanner.

Great Low Cost Software

This is an indispensable program on my computer -- a clipboard manager.  ClipMate retains all the text and images you capture with a Copy operation (Edit-Copy, Ctrl+Insert, Ctrl+C, etc.) so you can backup in the list and reuse a previously copied item.  But it does tons more:  organize collections of clips, print or save clips, convert case, cleanup text (remove line breaks, trailing blanks, leading ">"s, etc.), and on and on.  $34.95.

E-Magazines and Newsletters

If you are interested in keeping up to date with technology problems and their solutions (how do I make backups?  where can I get great freeware programs?  should I apply this latest MS patch?), subscribe to the free twice-weekly tip-packed LangaList, by renowned computer professional Fred Langa.  Better yet, subscribe to the Plus edition for $1/month.

OK, this is for the more technical among us!  Windows Secrets Newsletter and the windowssecrets.com website are the places to go to keep up with the very latest in technical information on Microsoft products, especially the Windows operating systems.  The WinFind search bar at the top of the site can be used to search a select set of high-powered information sources for technical terms.  I've been a subscriber since the first issue.

Great Websites

	Customize a home page for yourself with a guarantee of no banner ads, no popups, no spam.  My Way lets you organize news, sports, weather, the TV schedule (for your area, your cable or satellite provider, your favorite channels), all on one page with no ads or popups.  I use it as my home page.
	Lookup ROFL, TDD, or any other acronym with the Acronym Finder.
The Sky is falling!	DON'T look foolish by forwarding false emails about virus warnings or scams until you check these sites (and BOOKMARK them!): HoaxBusters:  blows the whistle on hoaxes regarding dire health warnings, free money, and evildoers! Symantic Security Response:  lists false virus/trojan warnings Urban Legends and Folklore:  the truth about incredible stories you receive!

Computer Security

• Under NO circumstances should you run a computer without virus protection with automatic updates!  Are you SURE you are protected?  Run your anti-virus program right NOW and check the date of the latest virus definition file.  If you feel you can't afford a product or annual subscription, search the web for free virus protection products.
• Microsoft provides a free Baseline Computer Security Analyzer tool which you should run periodically.  You will get an incredibly thorough report on your computer's security, along with detailed information on how to correct problems.  (But don't contact me to help you interpret some of them -- I'm confused on a few items myself!)
• Steve Gibson, of GRC (Gibson Research Corporation) continues to offer fabulous, free tools for testing your PC for security problems and fixing or preventing annoying or disabling intrusions.  EVERY PC OWNER should run his free tools on this page, including the famous ShieldsUp! PC security tester.
• Check the Free Software links above for spyware and adware detection programs.  These programs compromise your privacy, your control over your computer, and your computer's performance, and they are NOT detected by the programs listed above.

Internet Explorer Tips

• While using Internet Explorer to go to a web page named www.something.com, you can simply type something in the address area,  then press Ctrl-Enter ... and http://www. and .com will automatically be added.
• To type in a new URL, simply press F6 to jump to the address bar, ready to type.
• Pressing F11 will toggle full screen mode (displaying more of the web page) and normal mode.
• You can highlight a section of text then move it by clicking on it and holding mouse button one down to drag it somewhere.  To copy the text instead of move it, hold the Ctrl key down while you drag.  This works with all the MS Office products.

-- more to come, check back again! --

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