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It's possible to customize your Windows log-on screen, but not convenient. InstantLogonChanger is a small, simple, free tool that lets you use any image or solid color as your log-on screen background without requiring special privileges or badgering you with security prompts. You can set it to present your corporate logo or message on startup as well as on the desktop. It handles JPG, GIF, BMP, PGN, and TIFF images. InstantLogonChanger improves on Windows as well as the competition not only by making it easy to change your log-on screen background but also by enabling you to fill, fit, … Read more

Smart Address Bar is a free Web browser add-on that turns your address bar into a search tool. "My address bar is already a search tool," you say? Ours too, but we were a little surprised to find that Smart Address Bar made actual improvements. We tried Smart Address Bar for Firefox in Firefox 9x. While we were trying it, Firefox 10 came out, but Smart Address Bar handled the update fine.

As with other Firefox add-ons, activating Smart Address Bar requires restarting Firefox, which is easy enough to do without losing any open pages. Smart Address Bar'… Read more

Watermarking helps secure your images and documents from unauthorized use and theft. TSR Watermarking Image Software Portable is a totally portable version of TSR's basic watermarking package. It's free for individuals, but commercial users must buy a license when their 30-day trial expires. Since it's totally portable, it can run from a USB drive, compact flash drive, and similar media. That makes it a great choice for on-the-go photographers since it can watermark images from any compatible PC.

TSR Watermarking's user interface is businesslike, with few frills, if any. Three tabs handle the program's functions: … Read more

PC Brother Software Administrator Free is a free utility for managing programs. It can terminate running processes, perhaps disastrously, and uninstall programs. In fact, it offers to uninstall your free programs and replace them with paid software that's every bit as good, though some of the programs it recommends are inexpensive or free. Many are expensive, though, and the download link doesn't tell you how much a program costs before installing it.

PC Brother Software Administrator Free's interface bears a family resemblance, not just to the developer's other tools but to similar freeware. It has three … Read more

If you frequently find yourself saving large batches of images from the Internet, you've likely already figured out that there's a better way to do it than right-clicking on each one individually and saving it to your hard drive. Programs like Any Image Downloader can automatically save numerous images in just a few seconds. Although we found Any Image Downloader easy to use, it didn't quite live up to what it promised.

According to the developer's description, Any Image Downloader can be accessed via the context menu in Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera, or Internet Explorer. In … Read more

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

Who doesn't love a good mystery? In The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes, players help the popular detective solve a number of cases, including theft, missing persons, and even murder. The game is more about solving puzzles than actually unraveling mysteries, so although your deductive reasoning may not get much of a workout, this game is a fun option for puzzle lovers.

Be aware that before you download The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes you have to download the Free Ride Player, a game manager that will then download the game automatically. The game itself is 130MB, so if … Read more

Wow, new PC, eh? Nothing else like it: slim, sleek, and speedy, with gobs of space just waiting to be filled up. The last thing you'd need would be a system cleaner, right? What if we told you that it could be even slimmer and speedier if you removed some of the junk like software demos and toolbars that comes preinstalled on new PCs? Suppose there were a free utility designed specifically to slim down new PCs by clearing away the stuff you don't want and won't ever use before it becomes the computing equivalent of belly … Read more

Millions of current and former children can tell you all about flash cards, which they remember well, proving that the cards worked. Flash cards aren't just for youngsters, though; they can help anyone learn and remember new things. Thanks to freeware suites like Anki, flash cards are easier than ever to use. Anki's customizable cards and exercises help you learn and remember not only facts and figures but also names, faces, places, and more. It works on a wide range of operating systems as well as cell phones and mobile devices, including Android and iOS.

When we installed … Read more