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Tips & Tricks |
| Some "Freeware" products, albeit really free, have
some sort of ad support built into them. Sometimes this is done with small
banners that the author has installed to get compensation for the work put
into the development of the software, but this is very rare. More often
than not, it is put into the "freeware" by someone who has purchased the
software (or more likely got it as "Open Source) which was "pure", added
banners or in some cases other types of files (Spyware)
for the purpose of making money, repackaged it , then re-offer it as
"freeware". You will find no "freeware" that has built in "ad support" on this site unless noted by us, (the exception being a couple of the most popular excellent free programs; i.e. Napigator, Callwave, etc.), and absolutely no "Spyware" no matter how good the program is! Most software authors give stuff away with the hope that you will enjoy their product and possibly purchase an upgrade or a Premium product from them. Others give it away because they have written the software as a college project, or as an attempt to earn awards, or just because they enjoy doing so. (Some of the authors listed on this website are or were teenagers when they wrote their "Top Quality" programs!) Anyhow, this is where NoBuck$ comes in! We spend a lot of our free time testing software that is offered as "freeware" looking for dependability, compatibility, ease of use, bugs, whether or not the software lives up to the Authors claims, and what is known as "spyware or adware". We personally feel that if the "freeware" is really "free" then it should not bother anyone with advertising, and more importantly should not be sending out information on your "surfing" habits, software installed on your PC, usernames and e-mail addresses, loading up your hard drive with files you don't know about, or anything else, without telling you in advance and getting your explicit permission to do so. At NoBuck$, we are dedicated to keeping "free" FREE, "privacy" PRIVATE, "security" SECURE, and "invasiveness" NON-INVASIVE to all who visit our site or any site we link to. This is where the "Tips and Tricks" come in..... Tip #1: If you have had or are using any "freeware" on your PC, your system probably has already been infected with the types of stuff mentioned above. If this doesn't matter to you just check "Tips" #3 - 5 and please do read our Privacy Policy and Disclosure Statements on the Homepage before you download any more freeware. Tip #2: If this does bother you we would suggest you do this; Download and run a small (1.7Mb) "free" program called Ad-Aware. <This link takes you to the Ad Aware Homepage that will explain all about spyware and how it affects you. You can download it there. This program will also delete the entries from your systems registry. This program will not delete anything automatically unless you request it to do so in the configuration options but will inform you if you are infected. WARNING....some "freeware" applications will no longer work if you chose this option and you will need to un-install them, but you would be better off without them as there are plenty of excellent replacements for them. If you have any important files that you created make sure you move them to a separate folder before un-installing. We also suggest that all users install a program called "SpywareBlaster" which can prevent the installation of any spyware ActiveX controls from a web page. If you are an "advanced" user, we recommend using "SpyBot S&D" which has many more options such as the removal of usage tracks, which makes it more complicated for unknown spybots to transmit useful data. The list of last visited websites, opened files, started programs, cookies, all that and more can be cleaned. Tip #3: Many programs and apps leave entries in your Registry even after you have un-installed them. Unless you are skilled at using Regedit that comes with Windows you should download RegClean from Microsoft which will clean out the basic errors automatically for you. Two much better programs for the more advanced user (you need not be an expert) are "RegCleaner" created by Jouni Vourio, and "EasyCleaner" from Toni Helenius, as they will not only clean your registry but can find sometimes hundreds if not thousands of unnecessary files filling up your hard drive. Use both of these together. What one misses the other one gets! Be sure to read the Readme & Help files and set "Options" before using these tools. Tip #4: To keep your PC in top running performance especially if you download and/or delete files often, Run "Disk Cleanup" if you have it, "ScanDisk” and "Disk Defragmenter" at least once a week! In case you never heard of these system tools you will find them in your Programs/Accessories/System Tools in your Start Menu (depending on your version of Windows). If not, go to Start/Help and type it in. If your version of Windows has Maintenance Wizard you can set that to run once a week. Also visit Microsoft Here for all updates for your version of Windows and Internet Explorer or Here for Netscape's Browser. Tip #5: Always take the time to backup important files! You should at least have a system startup disk for your PC. If you don’t know how to make one see (Start/ Settings/ Control Panel/ Add/Remove Programs/ Startup Disk) or (Help/ Startup Disk). If you have a CD/RW drive they usually come with a program or info on how to backup your entire system to a couple (or maybe lots) of CD’s. Visit our "System Utilities" page for very useful file backup tools. If your system ever crashes or you get a virus and you can’t get it started you can save yourself a lot of money just by being prepared. Tip #6: For the Best "Tips and Tricks", you will find every kind of Trick, Secret, Bug and Fix info for any version of Windows & MS-DOS at "AXCEL216's MAX Speed" website! Some simple Tricks: Trick #1: If you do find any spyware on your system but are afraid to use Ad-Aware to delete them because you may not be able to use the program anymore, or just can't live without the program try this: You can "quarantine" the files Ad-Aware shows you. Try running the "freeware" that is on your PC. If it works, you should be OK. If not, you can always "Restore" the files through the program back to where they were so the program will work again. Note: Some programs that work after having these files deleted will import the deleted files back when you connect to the Internet again. Trick #2: You can delete built in advertising banners from most programs with no adverse effects. Try this; In Windows Explorer find the Folder where the program or app resides. By default, most are installed to "Program Files". Look for a + next to the folder. If there is, click on the + and look for a folder called "Ads" or a folder with a bunch of .gif files. Delete the entire content of that folder to your "Recycle Bin". Run the program and it should work... minus advertising banners! Only problem is that if you haven't deleted the "adware" drivers you will start to see banners appear again when you connect to the Internet and the program looks for "new" ads. But you can continue to do this whenever they appear. Again, once you’re sure everything is working as it should you can empty your "Recycle Bin". (This will not work on Instant Messaging or file sharing programs but there are some available programs for AIM) Since you have now read the above information, we at NoBuck$ say Thanks! for stopping by this site and we hope you have found it useful to you. |