Utility Software

VMware provides products for creating and running virtual computers inside an isolated container of a physical computer. By creating a virtual machine, users can test software in a virtual...

Adobe Acrobat Standard and Professional provide advanced functions for you to share and convert documents. The "Tools" options feature advanced editing, cropping and markup options to annotate and...

Nero is a popular media-burning application for creating audio, video and data CDs and DVDs. Nero is easy to use, with drag functionality for creating and burning projects. The Nero interface is...

A writable DVD can be used to store your digital photos. This provides you with a way to have a permanent backup of the images as well as share them with friends and family. The Windows operating...

VMware distributes a suite of software products that allows users to create and run a virtual machine inside an isolated container of a host computer. This process, called virtualization, allows...

Converting AVI files to DVD format and burning them requires a DVD burner, a DVD burning application such as Nero Burning ROM and DVD authoring software such as Nero Vision. Prior to beginning the...

MediaCoder is a free, open-source video and audio conversion utility available from SourceForge. MediaCoder is a very versatile tool and will convert tracks from CDs (CDA files) to MP3s, as well...

Windows Backup Status and Configuration is a program that allows users to back up their computer's most important files. While it is not able to back up system files or executable (.exe) files, it...

A Direct Access Archive, or .DAA file, is a file the compresses and holds documents, media files, and programs in a format that is usually stored on CD-ROMs or DVDs. A DAA file is an exact copy of...

A BIN file, or binary file, is a type of file that features an image of a CD-ROM or DVD, or a file that is meant to be stored as CD or DVD. BIN files can contain many files, including documents,...

Direct-Access Archive files, which have .daa extensions, are disk-image files that contain mirrored copies of information that is retrieved from, or can be stored on, a CD-ROM or DVD....

Making TrueType and OpenType fonts available on a Hewlett-Packard computer is a very simple process once the fonts have been downloaded or copied to the hard drive from a CD. With just a few...

Protecting your privacy is of the utmost importance when browsing the Internet, as spyware and other types of unwanted software can be installed from websites by adding a cookie to your computer....

IncrediMail is an interactive email client offered to the public free of charge by IncrediMail Ltd. This email client is compatible with the Windows platform, and allows you to utilize many...

When you print a document in Windows XP, the file doesn't go directly to the printer. The document first goes to the print spooler, where it is checked and verified by the application before being...

Malware and trojan horse applications constantly look for ways to infect your personal computer in order to steal your personal information (identity theft) or take control of your system...

The ISO image is a special binary file format that contains a complete file structure of a disk, including file attributes and boot sector information. Commonly, ISO images are used for CD or DVD...

Voice over Internet Protocol, commonly referred to as VoIP, is a telephone technology that facilitates the transmission of voice communications over an internet protocol (IP) address on a computer...

Adobe Acrobat has advanced search options that let you easily find any text in the document. You can also set Adobe to search in bookmarks, attachments and comments. Additional search criteria...

The JPEG (.jpg) file type was originally created by and named for the Joint Photographic Experts Group. JPEGs are compressed files optimized for use in graphics. Because of the compression, JPEGs...

Microsoft Live Meeting 2007 has a feature that allows you to record meetings. The recordings are saved in the Windows Media Player format (.wma) on your computer. Those who could not attend the...

If you are concerned about your safety, privacy or security, then setting up a video surveillance system is a good way to give you protection and a sense of relief. Unfortunately, many...

Norton System Works is a bundled utility program that protects your computer from viruses and malicious software, including spyware, by using Norton Antivirus while improving your computer's...

Mcrosoft develops ActiveX controls to enhance functions for applications that use third-party utilities such as Adobe Flash Player. While third-party utilities and stand-alone players are...

The Microsoft Outlook email application on Windows computers uses a Personal Folder format (.pst) for email management. Email programs on the Mac (Apple Mail or Microsoft Entourage) are saved in a...

Microsoft Outlook Express is an email application for Windows-based systems. Like other email programs, you can create an "out of office" message to inform individuals that you are on vacation or...

Each application in existence today has its own file extension. To open a file, you must have the appropriate application installed. Operating systems like Windows and Mac also have their own file...

Many computers running the Windows 98 operating system are unable to boot from an optical disk. For this reason, the floppy drive is an integral part of the computer, used for everything from...

Using the Windows Search feature is easy and self-teaching, although there are many small tips and tricks that can be used along the way. While many people deem tutorials for this as redundant,...

Internet Explorer 8 is an Internet browser. Since versions of Internet Explorer generally come with any Windows operating system, most programs that run in a browser are compatible with it. It can...

JV16 PowerTools is a powerful utility that allows the user to clean up the Windows registry with little fuss or trouble. By default, it creates a backup before performing any changes, so if...

A computer that is no longer being used can be both a liability and a privacy risk when it is disposed of. If files are left on the hard drive, they could be found and used by a malicious party to...

Norton Utilities is a product by Symantec that maintains your computer's functions by using a combination of tools such as disk defragmenter and disk repair, and organizes your files to improve...

Part of being a responsible computer user means regularly backing up your files once a month. While Toshiba does not have downloadable or pre-installed software specifically designed to back up...

An ISO file is an exact image or duplicate of a CD. It is like having the original CD without the hard copy itself. The ISO file contains all of the content of the CD. By itself, it may seem...

A CD-ROM can store up to 700MB of data, but there are times when you need to squeeze a little bit more onto a CD or you want to combine a group of files into one easy package. The best way to do...

Adobe Systems' Acrobat program family allows you to design, create and edit portable document format files (PDFs) that can be read across many types of personal computers without requiring...

A new content delivery platform that will offer electronic books in a variety of formats for download is in the works, according to Matt Hambien in the Nov. 1, 2009 issue of "Computerworld." He...

The Kindle is an eBook reader from Amazon that can play audio books from Audible.com as an alternative to reading the written word. Audible.com employs a utility called AudibleManager to manage...

Active@ Disk Image is a program that aids in the creation of a system backup for your computer. Using Disk Image, it is possible to make a clone of your computer's hard drive, then restore the...

System Restore is a feature of Microsoft Windows XP that allows for the restoration of system files, installed programs, registry keys and other elements to an earlier state in the event of a...

Create an ISO image of a disc to back up your physical media, especially operating system installation discs. Windows 7 was released with the ability to download the ISO and install via USB Flash...

Every version of Microsoft Office includes a unique identifying code called a "product key." This key must be entered when the software is installed, as it identifies the copy of Office as a...

Outlook accesses incoming and outgoing mail servers and saves these on the computer. Multiple computers can be used to access email if the messages are retained on the account server (POP3). By...

Restoring an .ISO to your USB Flash memory drive is an excellent way to reinstall your operating system from a backup. As of late 2009, Windows and Linux systems were being distributed via .ISO...

Sometimes taking a digital photo of your computer screen can make your life much easier. A digital photo of your computer's screen can be shared just as you would any other type of digital photo....

Windows 98 allows you to easily set the virtual memory on your computer. Virtual memory is set on the hard disk. It is especially useful for programs that require a large amount of memory to run...