Download This: Software to Save Your Bacon

Peel away layers of change to find a paragraph or image you obliterated long ago, call up passwords so obscure that even you can't remember them, and get a helping hand from browsers that warn you not to bite on a phishing site's hook.

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Introduction
Everyone experiences them--those "Whoops!" "Hunh?" and "Oh no, what did I just do?" moments. This month we'll look at downloads meant to help users overcome accidental deletions and file changes, recall forgotten passwords and other data, and prevent reflexive clicks on malicious phishing links.


Do the Undo
TrackMyFiles from Iternum software automatically saves backup versions of files in specified directories on your hard drive. It goes beyond undelete software by allowing you to restore or view of your choice from among many previous file versions. So if you belatedly realize that you need a paragraph or slide you changed three saves ago, you can right-click the file and bring up the appropriate prior version. You can also restore deleted documents via the TrackMyFiles interface.
It's fastest to right-click and choose a version listed by date; but if you proceed through the program interface, you can instead select according to descriptive notes that you set for different versions, such as "Sent to Maureen." Iternum says that it saves only the changes made from one version to the next, which should use up far less backup space than storing multiple copies of the entire file as it evolves.
The program works with most file types, including Office documents, according to Iternum. It also handled changes that I made to a test bitmap image. You can try it free for 60 days, but after that it'll cost you $37 (not $35 as the site's FAQ says) to keep.
One piece of procedural advice: Put the TrackMyFiles download in its own folder before double-clicking to install it. If you run it from a folder that has a similarly named setup file, it will confusingly try to start that other program.


A Splash of Memory
Our second download this month offers relief to poor suckers like me who can't remember passwords (and other crucial data) to save our lives. In addition to handling your multitude of forgettable log-ins, SplashID, from SplashData, has templates for storing everything from credit card numbers to clothing sizes. Each variety of template labels fields appropriately--such as doctor, pharmacy, and Rx number for a prescription, or expected username, password, and URL for a Web log-in. For log-ins, you can click a URL to bring up the page in your default browser; but unlike the browser's built-in password manager, SplashID won't auto-fill your log-in data.
SplashID uses 256-bit Blowfish encryption for all its saved data, and you can set a start-up password (though you'll have to remember that one yourself). You can also export or import your saved records to and from a backup file.
SplashData recently created a stand-alone PC version of its program to go with existing versions that work with various PDAs, including Treos and BlackBerries. A free evaluation copy is good for storing 25 records; the roomier full version costs $20; and PDA and smartphone versions cost $30.


Built-In Browser Safety
Remembering your personal data is the first step. The second is to keep it safe online from the growing number of phishing sites. To help, Mozilla and Microsoft have added built-in antiphishing features to the new versions of their browsers, Firefox 2 and Internet Explorer 7.
Both browsers are still free downloads. Firefox 2 compares each site you visit against a blacklist of known phishing sites, and displays a warning if it finds a match. Similarly, IE 7 aims to protect against unknown sites by checking for certain phishing characteristics, such as images pulled from a financial site but content pulled from elsewhere.
The antiphishing and many other new features make either browser a no-brainer upgrade over its predecessor. For an in-depth review and comparison of both, along with download and installation details, see "Radically New IE 7 or Updated Mozilla Firefox 2--Which Browser is Better?"
PC World Associate Editor Erik Larkin is filling in for Laura Blackwell, who is on maternity leave.



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