Pen Drive for Better Computing Experience

Anoop Verma

THE storage space that we can have in modern pen drives is on an upward spiral, while the prices keep plummeting. These days it is easy to get hold of a branded pen drive of 4GB or more storage for less than Rupees 400. You can find pen drives of up to 32GB for around Rupees 1200. All of us would be having quite a few pen drives lying around with us.
These days, when we are having a data deluge in our lives, we have also started relying on the cloud for our storage and computing needs, many of the pen drives may not find any use. However, the pen drives continue to play an important role in our lives. Even those who rely solely on the cloud to meet their storage related needs, continue to use pen drives for running some useful apps.
Microsoft Safety Scanner (http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx)
The Internet is chock-a-block with all kinds of malicious programs. So it is essential for you to carry around a portable antivirus program with you at all times. Such a program is especially useful when you have to copy files from someone else’s computer to your pen drive. It is highly advisable to scan every file to ensure that are not infected with malicious programs, before saving them to your pen drive.
Microsoft Safety Scanner is a very popular free utility that can be downloaded to your USB stick.  It is incorporated with all the latest virus definitions to ensure the safety of your pen drive and your computer systems. You can also go in for Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool, which is also free. ClamWin Portable is also a good option.
Infra Recorder (http://infrarecorder.org/)
This very useful app allows you to record CDs and DVDs on the go. Incorporated with a wide range of powerful features, this app comes with an easy to use application interface and Windows Explorer integration. InfraRecorder is released under GPL version 3.
System Explorer (http://systemexplorer.net/)
This nifty utility can be used to get detailed info about processes, start-up programs, add-ons, windows services, drivers, network connections, and much else. It can also be used to quickly scan files with online services. You can also quickly access other system information including fonts, audio and video codecs, user accounts, and much else.
GIMP Portable
This popular freeware program for editing photos is small enough to be downloaded and stored in your pen drive. Many times you must have felt the need of emailing pictures, which turned out to be too large. In such situations, all you need to do is fire up GIMP, resize the photos so that they are ready to go. It also supports layers and other advanced photo editing features. It can be downloaded from popular download sites like – Source-Forge and others.
KeePass Password Safe (http://keepass.info/)
For all of us who are absolutely serious about securing our passwords, the KeePass is one of  the best programs. This program also makes it easier for us to remember and use multiple passwords. KeePass is encrypted and very secure so you can use it with complete peace of mind.
Recuva (http://www.piriform.com/recuva)
This is a great program for recovering deleted files or photos. It works on hard drives and external media like flash drives and SD cards too. Once you open the screen, you will automatically see the list of files that can be recovered.
SoftPerfect Network Scanner (http://www.softperfect.com/products/networkscanner/)
These days we have become used to having lot of device connected on the network. This network scanner enables you to quickly see all the devices on the network and get info like their IP address, MAC address, host name and much else. In case you find any discrepancy, or simply for the sake of having more efficiency, you can use the program to remotely shutdown the machines. You can also use the program to find shared folders and listen for open TCP ports.