Windows only I've tried out several free VPN services in the past and generally they are difficult to use or are extremely slow. When I tried out SecurityKISS I was pleasantly surprised at how it surpassed both of those hurdles. I was able to download the software, install it, and get connected to a VPN in under a minute.
Windows only Windows 8 will usher in a new version of Windows Explorer that is polished up with the Ribbon interface, which is something users tend to either love or hate.
Windows only Using scheduled tasks on your Windows PC you could create things that emulate an alarm clock, such as playing some sort of media. It's not impossible to do that way, but also not all that convenient. Start My Day is a free app that wants to help get your computer ready each morning without you having to fuss around with scheduled tasks.
Windows only If you're one of those people that have to suffer with a PC that takes minutes to boot up this is something you'll want to consider doing. It can be frustrating when restarting a computer that takes forever because many times you can't just walk away and come back to it ready to be used.
Windows only Many people consider magnifiers to only be for accessibility purposes, but they are also useful when working on projects that require pixel-perfect precision. Pointing Magnifier is a free Windows app that works really well when it comes to needing to do more than just read what is on the screen.
Windows only Markdown is a language that is supposed to make writing easier by letting users compose formatted content in a plain-text editor. Getting used to some of the syntax can take time, but there is a lot of intuitiveness behind it as well. Once you decide that you want to give Markdown a try I recommend checking out the free MarkdownPad app for Windows.
Windows; Mac Most screenshot apps out there don't have integrated sharing options, but there is definitely a trend to make screenshot sharing easier with these types of programs. TinyGrab is a free utility that focuses on snapping a screenshot and immediately uploading it to their servers or your own custom location through FTP/SFTP.
When it comes to Google Chrome I normally use one of the development builds which is generally pretty stable. Unfortunately a few weeks ago I ran into a bug with one the extensions I use a lot, and I had to roll back to a version of Chrome where the bug didn't exist.
Windows only Many computers these days are shipping with SSDs to improve the overall performance of the machines, but as a compromise we have to give up some of the storage space we've grown accustomed to having.
Windows only There aren't many instances when I have to print things these days, but when I do I feel like I'm wasting a lot of paper with the stuff I'm trying to print off. There is a free app called iPrint that tries to save your precious resources by helping you print multiple pages on to one single page.
If you are one of the people that use dozens of extensions in Chrome then there is a good chance you're wasting memory that you don't have to be. Chrome lets you disable extensions on-the-fly so that they don't consume any resources until you enable them again. If you, for example, have some web development extensions installed you may only want them enabled when doing related work.
With the holidays right around the corner it is important to make sure you're getting the best deal for the gifts you are picking up. There are all kinds of browser extensions out there that can help you save a few dollars, but PriceBlink is one I always use.
Windows only When it comes to popular services like Gmail and Facebook there are a wide range of extensions available to make their appearance look a little nicer, but the free Pokki app takes an even more interesting approach to this.
Windows only In the past we've covered some Gmail notifiers, such as Spiffy, but there is always room for some alternative apps. Gmail Notifier Pro is a rather full-featured notifier that goes beyond a simple popup notification.
Mac only Recently I had been noticing that each hour when my Time Machine backups ran there was an excessive amount of data being backed up. I could understand the data changing frequently given how much I use my computer, but the backups were still over 1GB even when the machine sat idle.
Windows; Linux Have you ever been in the situation where you've wanted to archive a website so that you'd have a copy of it exactly the way it was at that moment? If you have just one page you want to save that can generally be done with tools like this Chrome extension, but to create a copy of a site it can be a lot more complicated.
Windows only We've covered several Windows Explorer alternatives here on the site, and in general the ones that are free all leave something to be desired. The thing that I really like with NexusFile is that it has many of the features power users want, but without all the clutter that a lot of the other file managers tend to come with.
Windows only We've talked about both WinMerge and DiffMerge in the past, and both are great file comparison utilities. When it comes to comparing files, however, these generally only focus on text-based files meaning PDFs are left out in the dark. There is another free program called DiffPDF that can handle those files for you.
There isn't a lot of stuff more geeky than playing a game in your browser who's goal is to destroy elements on a webpage. That's what the Destroy the Web extension for Google Chrome and Firefox does, and it is surprisingly fun.
Windows only Microsoft added a lot of great features in Windows 7 that makes managing your windows a lot easier, such as Aero Snap and Aero Shake. For some users, however, these features may actually become even more useful if they are tweaked just a little bit. AquaSnap is a free program that adds a new twist to the way some of those things work:
