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Imagine
the worst things that could happen to your laptop. It
gets stolen at LAX, and you haven't encrypted the
details of a merger deal you're about to present. Your
most personal e-mails will be exposed to the world via
the Internet. Or you desperately need a Wi-Fi connection
but can't find one. Or you're flying over
Denver
on your way to
Omaha
, and your battery is already pooping out. When you get
to
Omaha
, and an electrical outlet, you have to e-mail a
gargantuan file, which will take precious minutes from a
schedule that doesn't have them — if the file even
gets sent. If only you had loaded
Laptop Utilities
, a suite of programs for Windows laptops that addresses
four of your worst fears.
It will
find the closest Wi-Fi networks and hot spots and help
you figure out if they're safe, help you get more
computing time from your laptop's wimpy battery and
encrypt your files so that only you have the key. It
will also compress huge files, such as your expense
account, so that you can send them by e-mail and not
clog the information highway.
The
battery optimizer works by shutting down features you
don't really need, and it will give you an accurate
assessment of how much time you have left. The battery
optimizer will have dimmed your screen a bit and shut
down a passel of processes that are battery hogs. (The
battery optimizer will work in Windows Vista, but not XP
or Windows 7.)
The
encryption utility will let you password-protect
everything from your expense account to your entire hard
drive. You can set it for two levels, so that files
meant to be shared can be opened, while your most
confidential files can be protected. You can use it on
that USB drive you carry around in your pocket, too. But
woe unto you if you forget your passwords. There's no
way of retrieving them.
All in
all, four essential utilities for your laptop that do
the job and won't break the bank.
Laptop Utilities
will run on Windows Vista and XP. To order, send
$20
, plus
$6
for shipping, to WashingtonCD, PO Box 351531,
Los Angeles, CA
90035, or online at www.washingtoncd.net.
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