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Hide files, folders, and USB drives with Wise Folder Hider

WiseCleaner's Wise Folder Hider is a free tool that can secure your data by hiding important files or folders on your disk drive or portable drive, and protecting them with a password. And Wise Folder Hider lets you go a step further by requiring a double password for special items; nothing less than the legendary "double secret password."

We clicked Wise Folder Hider's desktop icon and created a password to start using the program. Wise Folder Hider's user interface is simple but attractive, with three items in the toolbar: Hide File, Hide Folder, and Hide … Read more

EasyPC Cleaner Free cleans what you tell it to

PC users have a lot of choices in free system cleaning utilities these days. Most seem to offer disk and registry cleaners and a variety of Windows tools like startup managers and uninstallers. They all seek to balance ease of use, system safety, and effectiveness. EasyPC Cleaner Free fits the description. We found it an effective disk and registry cleaner, once we'd set it up to meet our needs.

EasyPC Cleaner Free's attractive, efficient interface is much like most similar tools in general layout and design. It has a series of large buttons labeled 1-Click Clean, Disk Clean, … Read more

Maintenance manager

Computers, like most other machines, require regular maintenance to keep them running smoothly. PC Brother System Maintenance Free is a comprehensive suite of utilities that can help your system stay in top condition. Even if you're not particularly technically savvy, this program has plenty of tools you can use to improve your computer's performance.

The program's interface is attractive and easy to navigate. Four tabs--Optimize, Security, Tools, and PC Info--contain the program's main features. The Optimize tab includes tasks for performance, appearance, network, and security; you can select which of these you want to include and … Read more

Text-tacular

We all encounter times when we need text with a little pizzazz, whether we're working on a Web site, a presentation, or something else that requires eye-catching visuals. Pos Text Effects is an easy-to-use program that lets you create text-based graphics that can be used as signs, headers, banners, and so on. Even if you don't know anything about design, Pos Text Effects is a piece of cake to use.

The program's interface is plain and intuitive. First, type or paste your text into the text box. There are typical formatting options here, including buttons to set … Read more

Google's browser, take 4

If you're the experimental sort of computer user who feels comfortable trying out beta software and development versions, you may have been playing around with extensions to Google's Chrome browser for a while now. However, if you're not an early adopter--and no shame if you're not--the latest stable version, Chrome 4.0, is now available. That means those browser add-ons are yours to explore, without the warning notifications of assumed risk that came with earlier releases. Don't forget, it's the add-ons like AdBlock Plus and FoxyTunes that gave Firefox the fuel to challenge Internet … Read more