Toolbox

This is page is currently being overhauled. Almost all of the original items are irrelevant nowadays or have much better current alternatives.

• winget - official Windows package manager. Single greatest thing Microsoft ever did.
• PowerToys - All the stuff that should just be in Windows. FancyZones especially. Second best thing Microsoft ever did.
• Greenshot - Straightforward screenshot software. I use it at least a dozen times a day. The current builtin SnippingTool has its place, but this fits my workflow way smoother.
• Ventoy - current best multi-boot USB solution
• Rufus Disk Utility - No nonsense USB drive formatting tool
• Notepad++ - long live the king
• VisualStudio Code - A tad overweight, but its nice to have one powerful IDE for the various purposes I have.
• Python - My language of choice for when batch files aren't enough.
• WizTree - Successor to WinDirStat for modern systems.
• DNS Benchmark - Steve Gigson has so many amazing tools, but his DNS benchmark has helped me solve some very odd networking problems that aren't exactly DNS specific.
• NirSoft - This guy pretty much creates all the tools that should be built into Windows and Sysinternals has not addressed. I have use more than the list below, but theses are the ones I use most frequently.
  1. PingInfoView
  2. NetworkLatencvView
  3. NetworkTrafficView
  4. BluScreenView
  5. ProduKey
• Sysinternals

• Zalman/IODD Virtual Optical Disc Drives - IODD makes them, but Zalman has the American distribution. You can read my write up on mine HERE
  • IODD 2531
  • Zalman ZM-VE350

• Gibson Research Corp.
  1. SpinRite - Yes, there are ways to kick a disk into gear with dd and afew other Unix commands, but sometimes you just need to set it and forget it and get a little feedback from the process.
  2. ShieldsUp
  3. PerfectPasswords
  4. Never10 - makes the policy changes to forever prevent Windows 10 upgrade
  5. DNS Benchmark
• DownDetector
• Sysinternals - All the things that should be built into Windows, so Microsoft bought them.
• YUMI Multiboot - I don't use it too much anymore, but have found it to be the best bet on stubborn machines where I need multiple tools still.
• KeePass Password Safe - Open-source self-managed password vault. Can sync via FTP or just run from Dropbox.
• Turnkey Linux - They have a plethora of turn-key solutions. Makes it so easy to just fire up a VM and see if it is gonna work for you.
• Snip - Really nice screen-snipping software from Microsoft Garage. I really want them to replace Snipping Tool with this. Would make snipping stuff on whatever Win10 machine I find myself at completely painless.
• SyncToy - File sync/backup tool made by Microsoft. Build you jobs and setup a scheduled task and forget it.
• Directory Opus - Excellent Windows File Explorer replacement that is well worth the money.
• Cherry Tree Notes - Winth Microsoft acting-a-fool with OneNote lately I have been searching for alternatives. Cherry Tree is a rather solid one if you have a good syncing solution.
• Next Cloud - My Dropbox was getting rather full with wargame manuals and resources so I went looking for a self-hosted alternative rather than shell out for what is essentially cold storage with the odd 'need it right now' request. I am currently running the VM on my HTPC until FreeNAS gets VMs more stable. Working awesome so far! You can map to shares so I have Dropbox-like access to my entire FreeNAS share.