Every experienced computer user has a handful of tools they use to keep their PC running and to make their tasks easier. I am often asked what I use on a regular basis, so here goes.

1.       PC Tune-Up. One of the problems with Windows PCs is that they accumulate junk. Whether you troll the web, do word processing or video editing, “stuff” collects and fills up your hard drive, especially if you install and remove software regularly. The problem is that each piece of software revises the registry files that control your PC, and can contribute to slowing it down.  PC Tune-Up from Large Software does most of its work under the hood; you just install it and on starting up the PC it hunts down broken registry links, defragments files that are scattered around your hard drive, and then reboots the system automatically. I think of it like a steam cleaning the engine before I move out onto the race track. Like a fuel additive, it has perked up several of my slower PCs. (Large Software, www.largesoftware.com. Trial version available, $29.95)

2.       Exalead. This desktop search engine comes from France but it’s really been raising it profile in the U.S.  While there are several decent desktop search applications, including Google Desktop, X1.com and Copernic, I like Exalead because it is unobtrusive and it indexes Lotus Notes, which we are saddled with at Red Herring.  Exalead indexes the contents of your hard drive and then shows you results in a web browser. I can view search results from Microsoft Outlook mail as well as Notes mail and files on the computer. Exalead shows thumbnails of images, but not text until you click on a small box next to the result, but the item loads quickly. You can then click on a button that  will take you to the message itself. The company also offers far more elaborate enterprise versions of its software that can be shared across a company. (Free, www.exalead.com

3.       EverNote.  Like everyone else, I juggle several different desktops, laptops and phones. Remembering where I left notes from an interview, images or documents data can be daunting. I've tried every sync product out there, including several that have gone away. EverNote is my latest attempt to find an application that will keep everything in sync on different devices. The software promises to sync your information across several PCs, Macs, and mobile phones (iPod or Windows Mobile) so you always have access to it – as long as your store it in EverNote. The nice thing about Evernote is you can simply drag and drop text, photos and even pdf files into it and they’ll get saved and synchronized. The application recognizes text in images and can let you find something from a key word in a picture. It also keeps the URL of Web pages you store so you can go back to the original item.
There is a button you can install in your web browser that lets you save an entire web page (including the URL) or just a part of a page, great for rapid research. And there’s a time band you can use to track back to a certain day or time period when you only vaguely remember when you saved something. EverNote has iPhone and Windows Mobile versions although you can also look at your stuff via a mobile web browser, if you're a glutton for punishment. (www.evernote.com, free version, premium version provides more storage: $5 a month; $45/yr.)