Customizing your start menu, Spam bully for Outlook express and more

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• Customize Start Menu
• Version: 1.0
• System Requirements: Windows ME/NT/2000/2003/XP
• Get more info
• Download Customize Start MenuNOW!

Customize Start Menu, by Smart PC Solutions,LLC. is a slick program for getting your Windows desktop moreorganized and efficient. The way it does this is by snagging allsoftware titles for the "Quick Launch" area and the Start Menu andputting them in groups. The program keeps a database so it can easilysort them for you.

Customize Start Menu lets you shuffle the icons from applicationsfrom one place to another, giving you full control over the process. Youcan move icons, delete them, and more. You can even deal with multipleuser profiles on one computer. So, if you're looking for a way to makeyour computer a bit more organized, check it out. It just may be whatyou've been looking for.

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• Lockdown Plus PC
• Version: 3.6
• System Requirements: Windows 2000/2003/XP
• Get more info
• Download Lockdown Plus PCNOW!
• View A Screen Shot

Lockdown Plus PC, byY0YS Softwareis a powerful tool for keeping your computer safe and secure. Thisproduct was formerly known as Folder Security Professional. How does itkeep your computer safe? By controlling what can be done. For example,you can use the program to stop users from deleting files or stop themfrom accessing certain drives like floppies, CDs, and the like. You caneven prevent other users from making changes to critical Windows files.Pretty slick!

Lockdown Plus PC gives you the ability to create accounts formultiple users which is a powerful feature. The program has an intuitiveuser interface and is quite easy-to-use. To me that makes it perfect forusers with all levels of experience. It would be particularly wellsuited to a business environment. For example, you can configure theprogram to disable the Start Menu, the registry editor, or even theControl Panel.

Lockdown Plus PC gives you the power to control what canbe accessed and what can be changed. You can make things "read-only",limit access, and even protect Internet Explorer. Another cool featureis the ability to export a configuration file that can be imported intoanother installation of the program. Slick. So, if you'd like a way toprotect your computer from tampering, this is a program you need to lookat. Give it a try, I think you'll like it.

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• Corel Paint Shop Pro
• Version: 10
• System Requirements: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
• Get more info
• Download Corel Paint Shop ProNOW!
• View A Screen Shot

Corel Paint Shop Pro, by Corel Corporationis a powerful paint program that I've been using for years. Infact, I was one of the very first people to review Paint Shop Pro theyear it was released by Jasc. That was back in the early 1990's and theprogram has evolved and changed a great deal since then. For thatmatter, the world of graphics and design has changed a great deal andCorel Paint Shop Pro has kept up with the times.

Corel Paint Shop Pro has won multiple Shareware IndustryAwards and SIAF People's Choice Awards. You can create graphics foryour Web pages and Paint Shop Pro gives you lots of tools to makethose graphics as fancy as you want. For most people, this is theonly graphics editor or "paint" program you're ever going to need.Create banners, borders, and lots more. And in this day and age ofdigital photos, you can also use the program to enhance your pictures.Lighten them, change the contrast, size them, and much more!

Corel Paint Shop Pro is perfect for both home and business use.And it's also relatively easy-to-use and comes with really excellenthelp. You can use it to convert graphics files from one format toanother -- either one-at-a-time or in batches. And it's lightning fast.And, if you want to get creative Paint Shop Pro comes with over 75special effects you can apply to your graphics and pictures. It can alsodo screen captures, let you fiddle with colors, layers, and even putborders and frames around your pictures. Impressive.

Corel Paint Shop Pro, by Corel Corporation, is a totallyimpressive graphics program. And I could have dedicated pages talkingabout all the things you can do with it -- both great and small. It'swonderful for creating images from scratch as well as modifying existinggraphics. This is one program that you have to try for yourself.There's no other way for you to see just how good it is. It's so goodthat it's not just a Pick, but it's also a Dr. FileFinder Favorite and those are few and far between. So, takethe time to check it out for yourself. Impressive!

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• AJC Directory Synchronizer
• Version: 1.16
• System Requirements: Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP
• Get more info
• Download AJC Directory SynchronizerNOW!
• View A Screen Shot

AJC Directory Synchronizer, by AJC Softwareis a slick tool for synchronizing files and folders on your computers.This program is very easy-to-use and has an intuitive interface. Onething I really liked about it is the fact that it uses a color codedinterface to help prevent confusion when you're synchronizing computers.Unlike some similar program, AJC Directory Synchronizer lets you performa range of operations on files including deleting, renaming, comparing,and even opening.

AJC Directory Synchronizer provides you with a variety of ways ofcomparing and synchronizing files. You decide what rules theprogram will utilize in order to get the results you want. You cansynchronize files and folders on the same computer, between your PC andyour laptop, between computers on your network, and more. Another coolfeature is that you can schedule the program so that files andfolders are synchronized at a certain time. Very nice.

AJC Directory Synchronizer has a cool "wizard" that will guideyou through the process. The program shows you what files will besynchronized, keeps a log of all actions, and the color coding makes iteasy to see what's going on. And if you're an "old-timer" like me, theprogram even has command-line parameters that you can use. I was veryimpressed with AJC Directory Synchronizer and I think you will be too.Give it a try... I recommend it!

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• Xilisoft DVD Audio Ripper by Xilisoft Inc.
• Check ItOut!

Xilisoft DVD Audio Ripper is a slick program for "ripping" DVDaudio and saving it as an MP3 file. Or, you can save it in a number ofother formats as well. The program is really easy-to-use and is perfectfor users with all levels of experience. You can rip music quickly andeasily and enjoy it for years to come. Check it out.

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• Spam Bully for Outlook Express and Outlook by Spam Bully
• Check It Out!

Spam Bully for Outlook Express and Outlook is a program for thoseof you who use Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express. This is a SPAMfilter that learns which of your emails are good, and which aren't. Itgives you a number of ways to deal with unwanted email. The program haslots of interesting options, like forwarding good emails to your cellphone, or automatically deleting bad email. So, if you're an Outlookusers, check it out. Well worth your time.

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• TurboBackup by FileStream, Inc.
• Check It Out!

TurboBackup is a cool tool for backing up all of your importantfiles and folders. The program lets you pick exactly what things youwant to backup and you can even schedule your backups. You can back upto CD, DVD, floppy, ZIP disk, and so on. And if you need to recoveranything the program makes it easy-to-do. In fact, the entire program iseasy-to-use and intuitive. So, take the time to check it out and I'llget to a full review as soon as I can.

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That's it for this week! I hope you enjoyed reading about theseexcellent programs. And I also hope you'll take the time to check themout for yourself. I've said before that I see my role as filteringthrough lots of software and telling you about some ofthe best. Utlimately, however, it's you who has to decide whatprograms you like and you prefer. I just hope my Picks lead you to somegreat finds. I'm heading out for now, but I'll be back next week withmore Picks just for you. Till then, have a great week, a wonderfulweekend, and happy downloading!