There are a lot of PDF converting software available but if you need a simple one that gets the job done without any fuss DoPDF is the one. It is a basic PDF converter that lets users create PDF documents from within any program using the Print command.

Installation file is just about 1.6MB. DoPDF installs itself as a virtual PDF printer driver so after a successful installation will appear in your Printers and Faxes list. To convert to PDF, just print the document using DoPDF printer, select the save location and name for the PDF file and click ok, the PDF file will be created and opened up in your default PDF reader. Freeware alternative to Adobe Acrobat Reader

DoPDF can be used virtually with any application (with Microsoft Word, WordPad, NotePad or any other software) that allows you to print the documents. Advanced users can adjust the resolution of the PDF they’re creating. DoPDF is very light on resources and takes up almost no RAM. Its Free for both personal and commercial use can be downloaded here.

Copying and pasting text directly from a webpage to a word document brings a lot of unwanted formatting, tags links etc along with it, which is sometimes a real pain if you are researching on internet. Pasting in notepad for removing formatting and then pasting in MS word is an option but is a bit time consuming. Would be good if somehow you can directly paste from a webpage to a word document without bringing in any text formatting.

PureText is one such utility that helps removing unwanted text formatting, tags, links etc with a simple Windows hot-key combination. It’s a tiny application just about 28KB with no installation required simply place the file at a desired location (Program Files, C Drive, My Documents etc), create a shortcut to it on desktop and run it.

Normal copy paste commands are “Ctrl + C” and “Ctrl + V”, with PureText the copy command remains the same as “Ctrl + C” while the paste command is configurable; by default the paste hot keys in PureText are “Windows Key + V”.

PureText sits in the system tray, right click on it for options, here you can select the option to run PureText when Windows start, configure the paste hot-keys if you don’t like the default “Windows Key + V” there are a lot of available combinations to choose from, it can also capture the key combination you desire just click the “Capture the next key typed” and hit the desired key combination on your keyboard.

PureText version 2.0 is completely free to use. Download it at here.

Burning CDs, DVDs is something that is quite common for a regular computer user, but handling different file formats and burn them on a disc has always been a pain unless you have the right program for it. ImgBurn is one program which is lightweight, free and can handle many formats like BIN, CUE, DI, DVD, GI, IMG, ISO, MDS, NRG and PDI.

The Install file is just about 2 MB in size and installs in seconds without asking any personal information like email id or name etc. Installation also offers the ability to automatically check for newer versions. The User Interface is quite simple and easy to use.

ImgBurn is a very flexible application supports all the Windows OS’s – Windows 95, 98, Me, NT4, 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, 2008 and 7 (including all the 64-bit versions). It also supports all the latest drives without the need for updates (including booktype / bitsetting / advanced settings on many of the major ones – i.e. BenQ, LiteOn, LG, NEC, Plextor, Samsung, Sony).

ImgBurn may look simple from its interface but has the right mix of features. If you have more than one drive image queue system can be used for burning several images (which you can automatically share between multiple drives). Layer break selection for burning double layer DVDs. Other features include automatic write speeds, different modes for different tasks like

Read – Read a disc to an image file
Build – Create an image file from files on your computer or network – or you can write the files directly to a disc
Write – Write an image file to a disc
Verify – Check a disc is 100% readable. Optionally, you can also have ImgBurn compare it against a given image file to ensure the actual data is correct
Discovery – Put your drive / media to the test! Used in combination with DVDInfoPro, you can check the quality of the burns your drive is producing

It’s a must have disc burning software download HERE

DataRecovery scans the drive you want to recover files from and gives you the option to restore them or wipe out completely. It can even recover files that you have deleted from the recycle bin of your computer.

Supports FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS. Also it is windows vista supported. It can wipe off the deleted files forever so that they can never be recovered again. The Interface is pretty simple to use just select the Drive to scan for deleted files and wipe or recover them using the options available.

There is no installation required. Just unzip the downloaded archive and run it. The complete application is less than 500KB unpacked; it will fit on even the smallest of USB thumb drives and run from there. But DataRecovery doesn’t assure that all files deleted can be recovered successfully. It mostly depends on your system/configuration. DataRecovery can be downloaded here.

SUPERAntiSpyware

SUPERAntiSpyware can remove some of the nastiest malware infections Trojans, Dialers, Worms, KeyLoggers, HiJackers, Parasites, Rootkits, Rogue Security Products and many other types of threats. It can detect over a million malicious threats. It is easy to use and install (doesn’t require a reboot), also is light on system resources.

It protects the homepage in Internet Explorer so some malicious script doesn’t hijack it. SUPERAntiSpyware thoroughly scans the Windows registry, browser cookies, running processes and the file system. Removable media, System Restore folder and other essential system components can also be scanned using SUPERAntiSpyware.

There are three types of scans available Quick, Complete, or Custom. Quick scan being the fastest but yet very effective. Complete Scan checks every file in the file system and requires more time to complete (about 20 minutes). Custom Scan allows you to manually select drives/system components to be included in the scan. Scan times may vary depending upon the amount of files you have on your computer.

SUPERAntiSpyware also repairs the components or functions disabled by the infections. The reports generated after the scan are quite informative with the infection name, type, exact location and its short description.

It is available both as free and paid versions, paid version features include Real-Time Blocking of threats , Scheduled Scans, Registry Protection, Auto Scanning, Automatic Daily Updates, and Free Email Support.

Many times the windows fail at the very last moment of a large multiple gigabyte file transfers or it takes like forever to complete the transfers. Copy and Paste process may seem very simple but have you ever wondered about speeding up the process?

TeraCopy – A File transfer utility – can save a lot of frustration caused by slow, non completing file transfers. It’s Free for Home Users.

TeraCopy is a simple file transfer utility used to copy and move files at a faster rate than the in-built windows utility. It can be easily integrated into the windows and used as the default copy handler.

It can also pause the transfer process which can be resumed later on. Any errors during the transfers are notified without terminating the entire transfer, and in the worse case scenario it will just skip the corrupt file and complete the rest of the transfer.

The time taken to transfer smaller files is almost the same as the windows inbuilt utility but if you are transferring larger files (a few gigabytes), TeraCopy will reduce the transfer time to some extent. It’s a must have utility if you frequently move large files around.

Downloading all the IM clients and running them all at the same time is always an option (which is a pain in itself) but if you are away from the base computer, there is limited or no accessibility to all the software needed to run those IM services.

Meebo solves this by allowing you to log into several instant messaging services from their web page. Users can also connect to “Meebo Rooms” or can host there own rooms.

People behind firewalled networks that have blocked various instant messaging services can connect to their friends using Meebo (meebo.com domain must not be blocked) its possible cause the user is only opening a webpage not an IM service, Meebo in the background will itself connect to various instant messaging services.

Meebo has also launched the “Meebo me” widget, which allows users to have an embedded version of Meebo on their webpage.

Zamzar – A Free online file conversion service comes handy that can convert images, videos, audio and documents from one format to another without any software downloads. A variety of file formats are supported by Zamzar, some of which used to be a bit complicated or impossible to convert between. Supported conversions can be found here.

Using Zamzar is simple and easy as a few mouse clicks. The entire user interface is on the home page. All you need to do is:

1. Browse the file you need to convert
2. Choose the desired format to convert to
3. Enter your email address
4. Click Convert to upload your file and convert

They will convert the file into the desired format, and email you the link to download your converted file. They store converted files for 24 hours from the time you recieve the email from them with the download link. File size up to 100MB are free to convert most of the non-video files fall in this range. For faster and larger file size conversion you need to sign up for a paid account.

You can run all those chat clients at once or you can use Pidgin (formerly known as Gaim) is a OpenSource multi-protocol instant messaging client that lets you log in to accounts on multiple chat networks simultaneously. That means you can chat with your friends on Yahoo!, MSN, Google Talk and be present in a Yahoo! chat room simultaneously!

Pidgin lets you access multiple IM networks from one window it is compatible with popular chat networks like AIM, ICQ, Google Talk, MSN Messenger, Yahoo! and also with some less popular networks like Gadu-Gadu etc. Here is a complete list of supported networks:

• AIM
• Bonjour
• Gadu-Gadu
• Google Talk
• Groupwise
• ICQ
• IRC
• MSN
• MySpaceIM
• QQ
• SILC
• SIMPLE
• Sametime
• XMPP
• Yahoo!
• Zephyr

Pidgin’s Buddy Pounce feature lets you perform a certain action (play sound, open IM window etc) when a contact signs in or signs off or is typing a message etc. It also supports feature like file transfers, and multiperson chats, emoticons etc. IP telephony and video conferencing are missing but it still is a highly recommended text-only messaging client. There are numerous plug-ins available to extend Pidgin’s functionality beyond the standard features. It is easy to use, free and contains no adverts.

Foxit PDF Reader is a strong freeware alternative to the dominant Adobe Reader. It loads PDF files at a much faster rate than adobe reader and possesses robust features. It supports tabbed PDF reading making it much easier to open multiple PDF documents simultaneously.

Foxit supports multimedia embeds in PDFs, yes now you can watch a video or listen to an audio track in PDFs! Once I made the switch to Foxit, I never looked back again. It’s a must have utility, Foxit PDF reader can be downloaded HERE