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Today’s Software
- ShareX: take and instantly share screenshots
- ZenWriter: write without distractions
- Webroot System Analyzer: scan your system for issues
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About Windows Software of the Day
Windows has hundreds of thousands of programs. Because of this great volume and lack of a central store, software discovery (aka finding new and useful programs) is extremely difficult. With our Windows Software of the Day initiative, dotTech aims to change that. Everyday we post three programs, allowing our readers to discover new software, daily. Enjoy! [Subscribe to our Windows section to never miss an article: RSS Feed | E-mail]
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Software for July 25, 2012
ShareX
Looking for your next favorite screenshot tool? Even if you’re not, the free ShareX deserves an unbiased look. It allows you to take screenshots and share them virtually instantly.
By default, ShareX automatically uploads any screenshot you take and copies the URL to your clipboard. This means you can take a screenshot of something, wait a second or two, and just paste the URL of the screenshot where it’s needed. And, due to its wealth of uploading options, you’ve got no reason to not upload: you can upload to Dropbox, Box, Minus, Imgur, FTP, and many, many more sites after configuring them in Settings.
You may know by now that not many screenshot tools let you include Aero transparency in your screenshots, but luckily, ShareX is one of those few. It does it quite well, in fact: it gives you all of the drop shadows that really appear around your windows. You can also of course show or hide the mouse cursor.
Overall, ShareX is an amazing screenshot tool and is quite worth its $0 pricetag for anyone anywhere who’s looking for a tool. Even if you’re not, check it out!
Price: Free!
Version discovered: v6.2
Supported OS: Windows unknown
Download size: 1.1MB
VirusTotal malware scan results: 0/42
Portability: Requires installation
[via Reddit]
ZenWriter
Have you ever tried to write something on your computer? Probably. Have you ever tried to write something on your computer while remaining on just the writing program, not scampering off to browse the internet? If you have trouble focusing when writing, ZenWriter is the program for you.
ZenWriter provides a distraction-free writing environment, complete with a relaxing background image and calming font face. If you want, you can also turn on ambient music and typewriter sound effects, but those are purely optional. Water drops a particularly nice typing sound.
Writing with ZenWriter is not for everyone or for every purpose. It lacks text formatting, making it about as useful as Notepad for composing long-winded papers with graphs and charts, but is perfect for writing a letter or drafting a blog post.
If you’re constantly being distracted by the internet when writing, ZenWriter is for you.
Price: Free!
Version Discovered: v1.43
Supported OS: Windows unknown
Download size: 60MB
VirusTotal malware scan results: file too large
Portability: Requires installation
[via Windows.Appstorm]
Webroot System Analyzer
Running computer auditing tools regularly is part of keeping your computer clean and healthy. If you don’t, you might miss critical system problems, such as memory-sucking programs or broken/fragmented drives. Webroot System Analyzer is a free and portable program that lets you scan for system problems, though it doesn’t actually fix anything.
Webroot System Analyzer takes only around one or two minutes to scan, making it one of the fastest system scanners I’ve ever seen. It provides you in the end with a list of checked items, including critical items (malware or lack of antivirus, for instance), warnings (such as Internet Filtering being disabled), notifications (such as low RAM), and completed items (anything your system has in its favor). It can scan for things like malware status, antivirus status, hardware power, temporary files, firewalls, updates, crashes, and more.
Though Webroot doesn’t actually solve any of its detected issues, it’s still a nice start to getting your system in shape.
Price: Free!
Version Discovered: unknown
Supported OS: Windows XP+
Download size: MB
VirusTotal malware scan results: 1/40
Portability: No installation required!
Webroot System Analyzer homepage
[via Ghacks]
dotTechies: We have tested all the software listed above. However, Windows Software of the Day articles are not intended as “reviews” but rather as “heads-up” to help you discover new programs. Always use your best judgement when downloading programs, such as trying trial/free versions before purchasing shareware programs, if applicable.
