For beginners, zipping files means that you are reducing the size of a big file to slightly smaller size, thus allowing you to copy, move or send the files easier. WinZip is the original and most famous file zipper out there but it is not totally free.

Worry not because there are more than capable Win Zip alternatives out there and behold, 10 of the best, free Win Zip alternative out there, waiting for you to make use of them . Enjoy!

1- 7 zip

An open source win zip alternative.

Best feature: Offer 2-10 % better compression ratio provided by WinZip. That means you can have smaller zip files!

[homepage] [download ]

2- Peazip

A free archiver, available as portable and installable software for Windows and Linux.

Best feature: Portable version allows you to store this program in a thumb drive and zip your files from any computers! No installation needed!

[homepage] [download]

3- IZarc

An excellent file compression program / file archiver that supports humongous amounts of file formats.

Best feature: Can decompress strange, compressed file formats like 7-ZIP, A, ACE, ARC, ARJ, B64, BH, BIN, BZ2, BZA, C2D, CAB, CDI, CPIO, DEB, ENC, GCA, GZ, GZA, HA, IMG, ISO, JAR, LHA, LIB, LZH, MDF, MBF, MIM, NRG, PAK, PDI, PK3, RAR, RPM, TAR, TAZ, TBZ, TGZ, TZ, UUE, WAR, XXE, YZ1, Z, ZIP, ZOO. Your .zip files should be no problem!

[homepage] [download]

4- ZipGenius Standard

Another WinZip alternative that can handle more than 20 compressed archive types. My personal favorite.

Best feature: Has a quite similar interface like WinZip. WinZip users should have no problem changing from commercial software to this freeware.

[homepage] [download]

5- The Extractor

Gotta love the name: The Extractor. The program author could use the name as a movie title instead.

Best feature: Extract a compressed file such as .zip format with just one click.

[homepage] [download]

6- Quick Zip

Quick Zip is a simple program that allows you to perform powerful archive operations over a wide range of archive types.

Best feature: Windows Explorer like interface. That means that using this program is so easy.

[homepage] [download]

7- WinShrink

WinShrink is a completely free compression utility that supports all of the major compression formats.

Best feature: Convert from one disk compression format to another easily.

[homepage] [download]

8- Zipeg

Claimed by the developer as the ultimate tool for opening ZIP and RAR files.

Best feature: Preview entire files before actually unzipping a compressed file. Simple interface.

[homepage] [download]

9- JustZipIt

A really simple zip and unzip program. Simple; even the manual is just one paragraph long.

Best feature: It doesn’t have an interface, just a progress bar. And it works superfast. Wow.

[homepage] [download]

10- ExtractNow

ExtractNow’s main purpose it to allow the user to extract multiple archives easily.

Best feature: Batch archive extractions. That means that you can unzip multiple compressed files in one shot.

[homepage] [download]

There you go. 10 of the best, must have win zip alternatives, in my humble opinion. Dare to add more? Leave a comment below! Enjoy, free zip zapping files!

Tags: win zip alternative, winzip, winzip alternative

Fences is a Windows program that helps you get out of insanity by managing and grouping your icons in a usable way. Once installed, Fences will create a group of shaded areas or “fences” and try automatically to determine the right group for each icons on your desktop. Furthermore, you can add, move, remove, rename and resize the areas to your own liking. If the icons are not in the right group, move it then! In the end, your huge number of icons will be more manageable inside its functional groups.

Another trick that Fences can do is that you can hide all your icons in an instant by double clicking on a free space on your desktop. Nice to show off your colorful new wallpaper to your friends and make them jealous (or just to make you happy by seeing spaces on your desktop!). To make them reappear again, double click once more! Kawaii!

Fences are free and runs on Windows XP, Vista and 7. It’s practical, useful and eye popping-ly cool. Are you still reading?

Tags: fences, stardock fences, arrange icon, hide icon

Having said so, if you have the boss from hell that did not tolerate all of the above activities, you can still do them at your own risk. Using softwares that are considered as a “boss key” application, you can hide all the windows / applications that you are currently using from your boss in an instant, with just a press of a shortcut key!

Having scoured the web a few times, I’ve managed to find 12 tools to hide your application windows from the prying eyes of your boss. Here are the free ones:

1- Boss Key

Boss Key works by creating 10 virtual desktops that you can switch in between. Switch between “work” desktop and “play” desktop in just an instance.

2- Magic Tweak Boss Key

Press the default “F12” key and Walla! All your Windows will be hidden. It is also able to mute the sounds from so your boss won’t hear any “Rihanna”, “My Chemical Romance” or others singing around the office.

3- Boss Key (Firefox Add-On)

Designed specifically for Mozilla Firefox, this add-on will minimize your Mozilla Firefox to the system tray and cleans its memory. Great for heavy office Internet surfers.

4- CloseWin

CloseWin works a little differently from all the above. It will close all opened programs having its icon on taskbar and whose window contain selected text.

5- Dad’s Around

This simple program from the renowned Donation Coder team will silence audio, minimize all programs and forcefully terminate foreground processes (such as full screen games) when dad’s (or boss if you are and adult) walks into the room.

6- Clicky Gone

Defines itself as a window hider application, Clicky Gone protects your privacy by hiding your Windows from the screen and the taskbar with a press of a key. Simply divine.

7- Elongosoft Hide Window Hotkey

This program hide your windows and goes the extra mile to protect it with a password (optional). Lots of options to protect your privacy here.

8- Hide Windows Free

Hides everything running on your screen with a key. This is a free version of the infamous Anti Boss Key application.

9- Window Hide Tool

Another windows hider application, with configurable hotkeys for different actions that you want to complete.

10- Quick Windows Hiding Tool

The name says it all. Go test it.

11- ZigZag Cleaner

ZigZag Cleaner lets you use your mouse to hide running windows applications from curious people looking at your screen.

12- Windows Hidie

A lightweight hider that can be run from a thumb drive. Portable privacy protector if you ask me what I think of it.

Extra tip: If you don’t like any of those applications above (wow!), you can still use any of these free windows virtual desktop applications like Dexpot to quickly hide windows from your boss too. Just make sure that you set the right hotkey!

Enjoy the ride and happy hiding!

Tags: hide windows, hide applications, hide open windows, windows hider, bosskey, boss key

[flickr photo by Silva Morales]

For best results, install these freebies before you install any other applications.

1- Keep viruses away with Avira Antivirus. [download ]
First things first. One of the best software to install for a newly bought PC is an antivirus. Avira provides one of the most reliable, popular and free antivirus protection out there.

2- Remove trial software with PC Decrapifier. [download]
Some of the most major computer brands out there are shipped to consumers with annoying, trial based software. If you want to remove them a.s.a.p, this one is essential.

3- Keep spywares at bay with Spyware Terminator. [download]
Virus protection? Check. Spyware protection with removal and real-time scanning capabilities? Let this terminator works its wonders.

4- Remove junk items from your hard disk with CCleaner. [download]
CCleaner removes unused files effectively and keeps your hard disk clean from junk items. As a bonus, it comes with system optimization and privacy protection capabilities.

5- Defragment your hard drive in real time with IOBIT Smart Defrag. [download]
Fed-up with the ineffective default Windows defragmenter? Use this tool to defrag your hard disk in real time without having to stop your work each time you want to optimize your hard drive.

6- Proactively protect your computer with Spyware Blaster. [download]
Double up your computer protection from spyware attacks with this tool. Keep this one constantly updated to keep your system spyware-free.

7- Tweak and optimize your Windows capabilities with Fresh UI. [download]
Looking for an easy way to tweak your system without having to dive into manual registry editing? The ultimate registry tool for dummies (and experts too!)

8- Minimize hacker threats with ZoneAlarm Firewall. [download]
Protect your DSL or cable connected computer from malicious Internet users with this popular, excellent personal free computer firewall.

9- Delete important files and folders securely with File Shredder. [download]
Always remember that files that you remove via the recycle bin can still be recovered, if the disk sections have not been overwritten. To delete (and shred!) sensitive files permanently, this tool is an obvious choice.

10- Encrypt your data with TrueCrypt. [download]
One of the safest ways to secure sensitive files on a hard disk is to encrypt it with a secure password and algorithm. Even a noob can do it with TrueCrypt. Ridiculously useful.

11- Backup important files online with Dropbox. [download]
The Dropbox client allows you to effortlessly save, access and sync 2GB of important files between your computer and a free online backup server. Never lose any essential documents again!

12- Recover accidentally deleted files with Recuva. [download]
Does what it says above. A nice tool to have during difficult times.

13- Easily hide folders with Free Hide Folder. [download]
Looking to hide that important files and folders easily with an easy to use interface? Look no further, Free Hide Folder is here!

Have other favorite freewares that you always install for a new computer? Share it here by leaving a comment below!

Tags: freeware, free software, new computer, new pc

If you are a Windows or Mac user, you can install Tumblweed Tumblr desktop client from here. Being an Adobe Air app allows users to view and post to Tumblr without having to launch the web browser. The best part of Tumblweed is that it mimics the web-based Tumblr dashboard almost perfectly so that means Tumblr users will quickly feel right at home.

You can open more than one input windows at the same time, for example – text and video windows. Tumblweed also allows you to post photos from the Windows clipboard or webcams by using the screenshot tool. You can also opt to drag and drop your photos to the Tumblweed interface too. For advanced options like tags, date insertion and privacy settings – you can click on the “Show advanced options” link at the end of each input windows.

Overall, Tumblweed is a must have tool for Tumblr users looking for a quick way to post their microblog entries. Enjoy!

Tags: tumblr, microblogging, microblog, tumblweed, adobe air

TaskSwitchXP is an open-source, user-friendly task management utility that aims to improve the original Alt+Tab task switcher and Windows Task Manager. Once installed, you can view your task list by pressing the same Alt+Tab key combination. From the same interface, you can also control and manage your Windows tasks and processes.

Here are some cool things that you can do with TaskSwitchXP:

• Set the Alt+Tab key to sticky mode so you don’t have to keep your fingers pressed on it and then use your cursor keys to select or manage your tasks.

• Get better view of open windows with thumbnail preview of running tasks.
• Use your mouse to scroll between task lists.
• Middle click or press F1 on the thumbnail preview of a task to show advanced information on each task, for example; CPU time and memory usage.

• Right click on a thumbnail preview for task management actions e.g. switch to, minimize, maximize, close, end process and more. No more Ctrl+Alt+Esc to open the Windows Task Manager!

• Left click and press Shift on multiple items, and perform a mass task management action like close to turn them off all at once.

• Select only open windows from the same application e.g. multiple Windows Explorer windows by pressing Winkey+F11 for mass task management actions.

• Minimize a window to the system tray by selecting it and press F3 to unclutter your task bar.

There are still a lot more hidden gems inside TaskSwitchXP that you can use. It is undoubtedly one of the best tools that you can use to pimp your Windows XP/2003. Don’t forget to try this Alt+Tab and Windows task manager alternative today!

Tags: task management, alt tab alternative, alt tab, task switcher, task manager

You should have Adobe AIR installed before you can then download and install Doomi. Doomi is a really simple to-do application without all the extra bling-blings. You can add a task by entering it on the only field available and press Enter. To view all of them, press the blue, big down arrow. By pressing the small clock icon on the right side of a task, you can Doomi to remind you of the task later. Simply put it, you don’t need to read boring manuals before you can start using Doomi.

Marking a task as completed can be done by selecting the checkbox next to it. You can also view all of the completed tasks by pressing “Show Old“. And yeah, I hope the developers should not forget to add a minimize-to-system-tray feature in the next version of Doomi. I can’t imagine looking at my to-do list all the time floating on my desktop. Overall, Doomi is a super simple To-Do List tool for those who love simplicity and shiny things on their desktop.

Enjoy!

Tags: doomi, adobe air, todo, to-do, todo list

Secrecy File and Folder hider is really a simple application to boot. It runs on Windows 95, 98, 98SE, ME, NT, 2000 and XP. Once installed, you are presented with an interface where you can browse for folders that you want to hide. To hide a folder, select on it and click the “Lock” button. Once a folder is locked (equals hidden), the files inside it cannot be renamed, deleted, read, or seen by anyone.

You can unhide a locked folder by selecting the folder again and select “Unlock“. Pretty straightforward isn’t it?

However, there is one glaring disadvantage. If you don’t hide the desktop icon and startup folders of this tool, anybody can hide or unhide folders with ease; because Secrecy lacks a master access password. Moreover, you can only hide files that reside in folders and not a single instance of a file.

Other than that, Secrecy File and Folder Hider served its purpose. If you are looking for another alternative to this tool, try Free Hide Folder.

Tags: hide folder, lock folder, hide windows folder, secrecy file hider, secrecy folder hider, secrecy

Freewares

1- FastCopy

FastCopy claims to be the fastest copy/delete software on Windows.

2- TeraCopy

TeraCopy is a compact program designed to copy and move files at the maximum possible speed, providing the user a lot of features like transfer pause and resume, error recovery, shell integration, interactive file list and more.

3- CopyHandler

A small tool designed for copy/move files and folders between different storage medias. Claims to perform 6-7 times faster than the standard Windows operation.

4- SuperCopier

SuperCopier makes the Windows file copy dialog box a little bit snazzier. It adds more functions like pausing, skipping a file, copy lists, and file transfer speed throttling.

5- Total Copy

Copies file slightly faster than Windows (approximately 10% locally). Installs itself as an additional option to the Windows file copy function.

Payware with Free 30 Day Trial

6- BurstCopy

This utility that can speed up transfers on your hard-drive by up to 200%; so it claims. Simple yet intuitive interface.

7- CopyFaster

This software bypasses Windows 2000′s file cache to speed up its file transfer process. Works with Windows 2000 only.

If you know more tools and tips to speed up the Windows file copy process, share your thoughts by leaving a comment or two below. Let us shall make our Windows works much faster than ever!

Enjoy!

Tags: windows tips, faster file copy, faster copy, windows file copy, speed file copy

Join testking 642-892 online training to lead a successful career in IT. Learn the best tech tips and tricks using testking 1Y0-A05 demos and testking 83-640 video tutorials.

HotKeyBind is the right application to accomplish this job. It allows you to do two things:

• Assign new shortcut keys to do common Windows tasks such as opening a web page, search for keywords using a pre-selected search engine, copying texts to clipboard, launching applications, opening files and folders, shutting down computers etc.

• Disable default Windows shortcut keys so you can use them for other needs. For example; if you hate the Winkey+F hotkey combo that uses the default Windows local search, try pointing it to your favorite local search application like Locate32.

How HotKeyBind works is pretty simple. Just press the “Add” button to add a new hotkey, select an action to be associated with a hotkey (e.g. opening the TechMalaya website) and select the shortcut key combination to use. If you attempt to use a hotkey that have been used by another application, HotKeyBind will cleverly prompt a warning message. All your hotkeys and their related actions will be displayed in the main interface as a list.

Additionally, HotKeyBind will display an on screen display (OSD) to show the action triggered by a hotkey that you have pressed, which is a good way to make sure that you are pressing the right key for the right application. This Windows shortcut key program is free to use and distribute so don’t miss to install this one!

Download HotKeyBind here. If you want to utilize your idle function keys (F7, F8, …), try KeyDemon too.

Tags: windows, hotkey, shortcut, shortcut key, shortcut keys, windows shortcut key, windows shortcut keys