Three Great (and Free!) Lesser-Known Windows Programs

By David Johnston
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

I’d hope that everyone who reads RealTechNews has already heard of many of the great free software applications out there today such as OpenOffice, Firefox (don’t forget Thunderbird!), Adaware, etc. However, today I’m writing about three free Windows utilities which are much less well-known yet every bit as good as their more popular counterparts. These applications are geared towards streamlining the Windows installation process as well as making your computer more secure and faster to boot.

First up is a great up-and-comer called “nLite“. This is a GREAT program that you can use to make a customized Windows XP installation CD that includes service packs and windows updates as well as drivers and a boatload of tweaks. Perhaps one of the greatest features of nLite is the ability to create an “unattended installation” CD. An unattended installation CD will fill in many of the values and options for you during the installation process so instead of being tied up at your computer for hours, you can be out enjoying the day while your computer takes care of itself. I recently reinstalled Windows using a custom created CD from nLite and it was really a joy. I use an nForce motherboard with RAID, so normally I have to load RAID drivers from a floppy disk during the installation. This time, however, nLite was able to pre-load them directly onto the CD. I also included my graphics card and the rest of my chipset, network card, printer, and add-on card drivers into the install CD so when Windows was done installing I hardly had any drivers left to install. Driver installation alone usually takes me a good hour because of all the rebooting that’s necessary. Thank you nLite!

Next up we have another excellent utility called AutoPatcher. Autopatcher, as its name implies, patches your Windows system with the latest Windows Updates (it gets updated monthly) and also adds a lot of tweaks and add-on programs of its own (such as the Google Toolbar, TweakUI, and the ClearType Tuner. This is also a godsend because unlike the official Windows Update, Autopatcher can install every Windows update available post-Service Pack 2 without a reboot! That means you no longer have to reboot 5 times to get your Windows computer up-to-date. You just reboot after the program runs and you’re good to go. Combined with the added tweaks and software that focuses on making your computer more secure and usable (and faster) this is another must-have for anyone who finds him- or herself reinstalling Windows more than once a year.

Finally, we have a very small application which also has a narrow focus: XPY. XPY is a utility which is designed to make your Windows as secure as possible and prevent prying eyes from gathering information about your system. Two of my favorite XPY tweaks is the ability to set your Windows XP login so it doesn’t remember who logged in last and disabling “LM Hash” password storage (making your Windows passwords much harder for a hacker to crack). You can feel a lot safer after hardening your Windows’ security with XPY.

Now that I’ve talked these programs up I’d like to give you a bit of cautionary advice: be very careful what you’re enabling and disabling with these programs. Though all of them have the ability to make your Windows experience much better, they also all have the ability to screw it up if used improperly or without doing the proper research. XPY in particular can disable things that I consider essential to the function of a Windows computer such as Product Activation and Windows Update. That said, if you avoid these more dangerous options and do your research first you’ll find yourself wondering how you ever lived without these great utilities. I know I am.

PS: You can also run Autopatcher and XPY on an older Windows installation, so it’s not too late to give these programs a try if you’ve already got Windows installed. I’ve just found that they’re most effective and useful on a fresh installation of Windows XP.