Free Software Linux

Windows only: Free utility HDDScan diagnoses whatever ails your hard drive. HDDScan works on ATA, SATA, and SCSI drives and (with some limitations) on removable drives such as USB and FireWire....

Windows only: Free, open source application HFSExplorer reads and extracts files from drives formatted with the HFS+ file system native to Macs. Common uses for HFSExplorer include reading files from...

Free, open-source boot disk utility Darik's Boot and Nuke (DBAN) automatically and completely deletes the content of every hard disk it can find on your computer when you run it. Sure you can fire up...

Linux only: Linux systems are constantly writing status updates to a variety of different system logs—great news for debugging developer-types, not so great for anyone trying to save battery...

The Mysticgeek blog at the How-To Geek's site has a clever series of posts up that use free software tools to give Windows Vista Home Premium—the version that most often ships with standard...

Windows/Mac/Linux: TrueCrypt 6.0, the latest and improved version of the powerful software encryption tool, has been released. New to this version are the additions of hidden volume tools—the...

When you've got your Windows XP or Vista setup running perfectly, you don't want to lose all your painstaking customizations to a reckless tot, an experiment-minded friend or spouse, or a rogue...

Windows only: Ariolic Disk Scanner scans your hard disks, flash drives, CDs and other removable media for errors—but it doesn't fix them if it finds them. Completely portable and lightweight,...

Windows only: Freeware application Macrium Reflect Free creates disk image snapshots of any hard drive on your computer that you can restore on any other drive to bring your computer back to the same...

There's currently no Apple-provided method to securely erase your iPhone's data, and previous owners' data has been found on refurbished phones on sale at Apple. If you want to make your iPhone safe...

Ack! The computer ate my term paper! We've all been there at some point. You delete an important file, somehow it skips your Recycle Bin altogether, and for all practical purposes, it's disappeared...

Windows only: Secure file deletion utility Wipe File is a one-purpose program that lets you choose how many times a file on your hard drive is erased, written over, then deleted over and over. The...

Windows only: Portable freeware utility WipeDisk securely erases hard disks, USB drives, camera memory cards, and other removable media. Select from 14 erasure methods that make recovering files...

Windows only: Put your high-priority programs and files in the most easily-accessed parts of your hard drive with UltimateDefrag, a free Windows utility. The program does all the normal data-ordering...

Too many large email attachments weighing down Outlook's PST file and your hard drive, but you don't want to throw out the message with the attachment? Weblog Digital Inspiration details how to...