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Top Ten Tools for Simple, Convenient Surfing
When you start to learn your way around a PC, you soon realize all
the things that could have been designed better--made easier, more efficient, or just more
fun. Those aggravations are dwarfed by what you can encounter on the Web. It grew so
higgledy-piggledy that nothing about it is perfect. That's where Internet utilities come
in handy. To outfit your PC with cruise control we've pulled together a list of the ten
Internet utilities. These won't solve all surfing problems for all users, but one click on
the link "More Internet Tools" will transport you to an area in FileWorld where you'll find
utilities that solve most any surfing logjam you can imagine.
- PowerToys
for IE4: Microsoft's add-on package for its browser adds zillions of capabilities. It
lets you zoom in and out of Web pages; call up a search engine with a few keystrokes;
toggle images on and off to speed browsing; highlight text on a page just as you would in
Word; and right-click a page to pop a list of every link on the page into a new window.
- Cache
Compactor: Browsing leaves a lot of garbage on your hard drive. So does printing a
document, opening a spreadsheet, and even restarting Windows. With this utility you can
keep clutter down to a manageable size.
- Autodial:
Set your PC to log on and off the Internet at predetermined times by using this tool to
create events.
- Stay
Connected: Make sure your Internet connection doesn't drop in the middle of something
important.
- RascalPro:
Enhance management of dial-up sessions by keeping your Internet connection live, restoring
lost connections, running scheduled sessions, and doing batch-processing.
- freeDUM Dialup Manager: Replace the Windows 95 dialer with this new
Explorer-style interface. It dials silently in the background while you do other tasks and
then notify you by playing a .wav file. FreeDUM remembers multiple passwords and
automatically launches several different e-mail programs and browsers.
- Rasputin:
Let this utility simulate network activity to keep your Internet connection alive when
you're not busy clicking links. Rasputin is easy to use and stays discreetly in the system
tray.
- AutoWinNet:
Schedule your Internet tasks to occur while you're away from your desk.
- SpeedyNet:
With this database installed, Windows can look up IP addresses on your local system,
significantly cutting the seek time when you first contact a site.
- Connect
Time Monitor: This utility keeps track of connect time to any of a number of services.
The monitor automatically starts when you log on, and it sports many other features.
by Dan Littman, special to PC World
February 27, 1998
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