Defragmentation (like backing up) is one of those chores I don't think about doing all that often. And I really should, since my desktop at work is a cluttered mess of downloads, screenshots, temp files, and other digital flotsam.

When Auslogics mentioned they've got a new version of their Disk Defrag tool available for download, I figured why not take it for a spin? My drive could use the TLC, after all. The app is available with an installer or as a portable app and is free for home use.

One small feature worth a mention is that Disk Defrag supports Windows 7's superbar progress indicator. You can choose to defragment your entire drive or target specific files or folders. It's also got a number of other smart features, like free space consolidation and intelligent system file placement. Disk Defrag can also be set to run automatically when your system is idle.

The installable version can also clean up your temp files prior to defragging, minimize to the system tray, run scheduled jobs, and integrate into your right-click context menu.

Tidying up my drive's 130Gb+ of disorganization took about 25 minutes. Disk Defrag also includes a new optimization feature which Auslogics recommends running once a week. It takes quite a bit longer, but if it helps keep your drive healthy and running at peak performance it's time well spent.

Auslogics Disk Defrag buffs up, adds disk optimization in v3 originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We've all been there; we've got a problem with our server, laptop, PC, website, or blog, and have tried to solve it for hours with no success. At some point, we reach that point where we're absolutely certain that it's just some dumb thing that we're overlooking or forgetting to check. If you've ever found yourself in that situation, you'll probably want to bookmark a list of dumb things to check.

It's a list of (now 36) stupid things to check that you may have overlooked, compiled by Tom Limoncelli with input from members of the SAGE-Members mailing list. For anyone that hasn't found themselves in this situation, it will seem like a ridiculous concept. But for those of you out there that have been there, I bet you're thinking "awesome" like I am.

So, what's missing from the list? What's your best troubleshooting tip? Let us know in the comments.

A list of dumb things to check originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

SheepDog rounds up stray application windows on multi-monitor setups originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Fix common Windows XP errors with portable XP Quick Fix Plus originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Confused about Google Wave? Now you can read the bleeping manual. originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Are your apps ready for Snow Leopard? SnowChecker can tell you originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Troubleshooting with your Teddy Bear originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading NirLauncher puts hundreds of Nirsoft and SysInternals apps in one tidy package

NirLauncher puts hundreds of Nirsoft and SysInternals apps in one tidy package originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

How to build an Emergency Internet Relief Kit originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 19 Sep 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I have a love/hate relationship with Firefox. I love the functionality it gives me, but I hate how over time it slows down and acts like a bloated pig. Two of the biggest factors that will make Firefox drag are the amount of history it maintains, and defragmentation of the Places database. We've already told you how to fix both of those issues, but it turns out that there is now an extension that takes the place of pasting a command into the error console in Firefox to vacuum the Places database and remove any fragmentation.

Vacuum Places Improved is a very simple Firefox extension that adds a small vacuum cleaner icon to your status bar in Firefox. When clicked, it vacuums your Places database, just like the command that Lee described in his post in August, but with a single click of the mouse. In my case, the results were remarkable - starting Firefox went from taking about a minute and a half to about ten seconds.

[via Lifehacker]

Vacuum Places Improved Firefox add-on speeds up Firefox originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Moneyseize is a very straightforward single-screen platformer with charming 8-bit graphics and music. The goal in Moneyseize is to, well, seize all the money.

You're in charge of the 'gentleman', and your job is to jump around in each level and collect all the gold coins. Your gentleman is attempting to build a skyscraper, and needs to collect 1000 coins to complete it. There are critters in most levels, and they also hold coins, and you must also avoid the various obstacles and hazards, like the prototypical spikes.

An interesting twist in the game is that while there are 25 coins available in each level, in many levels it is not possible to reach them all. As you progress through later levels, you can press switches that will occasionally change the layout of previous levels, making once impossible-to-reach areas reachable. Since you control which levels you visit from the map screen, the game takes on a bit of a puzzle flavor to go along with the straight platform style, which feels very reminiscent of early Mario Brothers games.

While I can't imagine actually completing MoneySeize, my building has already grown far larger than I ever intended it to get, just in testing it for this post. That's usually the sign of a good game.

MoneySeize - Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Do YouTube and other Flash-based videos stutter when you view them in Firefox, but work fine in other browsers like Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Safari? This appears to be a problem that affects both the Windows and Mac versions of Firefox, and the problem (surprisingly enough) turns out not to be Flash - it's Firefox's session restore feature.

Lifehacker has a post based on information that one of their readers wrote in with. Basically, Firefox takes a snapshot of all of your open tabs every ten seconds, so that if you close your browser, you can open it to where you left off. Though you wouldn't think grabbing the plain text URL of a few webpages would be such an arduous task for the browser that it causes video to stutter, for some reason it is.

So what's the solution? Well, if you want to throw the baby out with the bath water, you can turn off the session restore feature altogether. A more sane solution is to simply lengthen the period of time between snapshots. To do this, type about:config into Firefox's address bar, then in the filter box enter browser.sessionstore.interval. The default value is 10000, which is the number of milliseconds between snapshots. Setting the number to 120000 lengthens the period to two minutes, a more reasonable but still useful period. Of course, you can set it to whatever you want, as long as you keep in mind that you're dealing with milliseconds.

I can't tell you how happy I am with this little hack - it has already prevented me from cursing Firefox a few times today.

How to fix Flash video performance in Firefox originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Software gurus Joel Spolsky and Jeff Atwood released Stack Overflow last year, a site for software developers to pose questions and help each other out with answers. Since then they've been busy putting together more sites on the same engine. They now have what they are (just for fun) calling their "Stack Overflow trilogy": Stack Overflow, Server Fault, and Super User.

Since we already know what Stack Overflow is all about, let's have a quick look at Server Fault and Super User.

Server Fault is a question and answer site for system administrators. It's the place to go if you need help with networks, servers, or managing many user's PCs. Typical topics include configuring mail servers, Active Directory, routing, and network security.

Super User is, in my mind, the most interesting of the three. It's a site dedicated to computer enthusiasts, otherwise known as power users. They're the people out there that are not necessarily programmers, not necessarily network administrators, but still know how to make their computer system bend to their will, and if they don't know something, they can eventually figure it out. Super User might make the job of figuring out your next problem a little easier, since it allows you to browse a huge database of questions, and pose your own questions that other power users can answer.

Since Super User only released to the public yesterday, it's still pretty fresh and just getting going. But I suspect it serves a very large market that is hungry for a solution like this, and it will grow very quickly.

Super User - question and answer site for power users originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Keep an eye on your system's vitals with Yet Another Process Monitor originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 04 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

How to turn off "on behalf of" in Gmail originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• porn and illegal files have been found on your computer
• a scan has found virus and malware infections on your system
• your system is totally unprotected

Continue reading DLS 101 - How to spot a fake Windows antivirus program

DLS 101 - How to spot a fake Windows antivirus program originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 20 Jul 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading TeamViewer improves speed, messaging, presentations in v4.1

TeamViewer improves speed, messaging, presentations in v4.1 originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's always nice to read some exciting news from the people who develop our favorite apps, and the team over at Malwarebytes had a big announcement in their forums yesterday morning. In less than a year and a half, Anti-Malware has removed more than one billion infected items from users' computers.

That's an impressive figure, and a strong testimony to the quality of their software. Anti-malware has been an indispensable part of my technician's toolkit since it was released and it keeps getting better. The app is so popular now that it's hard to believe I considered it one of my "lesser-known malware apps" back in July of last year.

To get your hands on a copy of a truly great free application, head over to their site and download it now.

Malwarebytes removes 1 billionth infection originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ask DLS: Is Microsoft's FixIt gadget useful or not? originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Three ways to hide the Facebook sidebar with userscripts originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.