Clean crap from harddrive

I’m updating an old posting of mine to add some very useful software to clean up your harddrive.

The software below is all Freeware (free to use).

As we accumulate junk, we need to keep our hard drive clean. Additionally, you need to delete private data in this day of identity theft.. If you insist on spending for something you can get for free, you can always buy software do the jobs below (i.e. Norton, McAfee)

Below are some free utilities that can help with this:

• File Shredder or Kill Disk – Permanently remove files from your PC. Very useful when you want to make sure nobody can recover files that you have deleted. Always remember that your PC will not re-use the same space until it re-writes over the deleted space (and you don’t control this.
  • For Mac’s: Put your file in Trash and select “Secure Empty Trash” from the folder menu.
  • On a PC if you hold the “Shift” key when you delete  file you will be prompted “if you want to delete a file permanently”.  Select Yes… I use this method all the time. Reduces the size of my Recycle Bin as well.

• Ccleaner (crap cleaner). This freeware utility cleans the registry as well as all the temporary files on you machine. Has almost weekly updates. I use this on all my machines to clean up the garbage left behind from surfing.

• An Absolute must have for cleaning up the garbage (cookies, temp files, etc) that accumulate on your PC. Best deal that is that its free!

I like the “Free” Price. You can find the software above  on Filehippo (which also gives you a listing of all the latest most popular freeware). As many people know: “if it’s free, it’s for me”.

Job Search – Part 4 – Mashable

I was thinking that now that I had written the fundamentals on the Job Search,  I was going to write in detail individual parts of the search.  After I read the posting in Mashable I quickly realized that I was reinventing the wheel when others had done a much more capable job than I could do! Read on…

Yet before I could even go there, I saw in this morning on my yahoo on my Mashable widget a posting by Dan Schawbel (author of Personal Branding 2.0 and build a powerful  brand) which expands on the networking portion of the job search.  This wonderul, amazing post  teaches you the art of  social  networking using the top 10 social networking sites for finding a job (besides linked in) you absolutely need to look at with a fine tooth comb.

Another link within mashable talks about 30 sites that you absolutely need to visit once you have been laid off.  Many of these sites, I knew of, but many were new to me.

In one of my prior posts, we talked about your resume, but we didn’t go into any details. Take a look at building at the posting for the how to build your ultimate social media resume.

If you follow this posting by Dan Schawbel and the asociated links, you will be well on your way to getting yourself a new job in this tough economy.  Thanks to Dan for these great contributions on Mashable!

Motley Fool – Excellent Investing advice

Motley Fool: For years now, I’ve been searching for the best site for impartial investing advice. I’ve tried Yahoo, MSNBC, and others (including Mad Money). In my opinion, the Motley Fool is the best of all of them

Yes, I dabble in stocks. I’m definetely not the Millionaire Next Door.

The Motley Fool’s site for excellent impartial stock advice. Of course the advice is not limited to investing, you also get excellent

• Personal finance
• Retirement
• Discussion boards
• Today’s headlines

Other good sites I like is CNN Money and Barrons (great weekly periodical). Enjoy…

Dad’s Taxi and Favorites

Smart Consumer Tips – Complaints and support

Today, I was reading Smart Money and I saw this article for the Smart Consumer to get help to report unfair business practices or if you have been treated unfairly by a business.

The sites listed below are Free to use and a few offer paid subscriptions. Hope you find it useful

Did you ever call a company and get stuck in an endless cycle of voice prompts? Well that happens to me all the time. I found the site gethuman.com which lists more than 500+ (and growing) tips on how to get to a real human!

BTW: One of the easiest ways is to press “0” when you get to any prompt.

What if you wanted someone to climb the the phone tree and then CALL you back! then you should try:
NoPhoneTrees.com.

• You select the company you want
• Key in your phone Number
• The service calls you back!

So what if you are consumer with a gripe and you need help? Here are some sites for you to consider

• Better Business Bureau – Good for consumers, business. Find out about a company and of course complain!
• Complaints – Free site to post and research complaints
• Planet Feedback – Much larger site, includes sample complaint letters and community!
• If you don’t mind paying: Try out letterchamp.com for paid consumer advocacy
• If all fails you can also go to your state’s Attorney General. I loved the context sensitive US map which gives you direct link to the AG for your state.

Dad’s Taxi and Favorites