There are a remarkable number of excellent free programs available on the Internet. Most are written by people who just want to help.

Here are a few I really like. They all work with Windows; some work with Mac OS X, as noted. I have links to them at www.komando.com/news.

HANDLE BOOKMARKS

Bookmarks are great for remembering favorite Web sites but can grow out of control.

Over time, Web pages can become unavailable. Or your bookmarks could be filled with duplicates. So clean things up.

Am-DeadLink verifies your bookmarks. It also detects duplicates for easy deletion. It works with Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Mozilla's Firefox and other Web browsers.

DUMP DETRITUS

Over time, computers get slower and slower. They get bogged down with temporary files and bad registry entries.

Further, the more you use a computer, the more you reveal about yourself. The sites you visit and files you open leave traces on the machine.

CCleaner fixes both problems. In seconds, the program deletes your Web history, temporary files and cookies. It also removes invalid registry entries.

GET FILES BACK

Recuva (as in "recover") can really save your skin.

Recuva recovers accidentally deleted files and photos, even those that have been emptied from the Recycle bin.

Recuva works with hard drives and memory cards. Simply select a drive and click Scan. Then select the files to recover. Save Recuva to a thumb drive and keep it handy!

TODDLER-PROOFING

Toddlers may try to imitate you by banging away at the keyboard.

This is cute, until your child overwrites an important document. Get ToddlerTrap.

This program disables the keyboard. A mouse click re-enables it. ToddlerTrap is also handy when you're cleaning your keyboard.

CURB SPAM

We've all had our fill of spam. Try a better filter.

SpamBayes is a Bayesian filter. It analyzes your messages and scores them. It is surprisingly accurate at sniffing out the junk. The more you use it, the more accurate it becomes.

SpamBayes is available as a plug-in for Microsoft Outlook. A stand-alone program works with other e-mail programs. SpamBayes can run on the Mac.

MAKE ODD FILES RUN

You may have home videos you'd like to transfer to a portable player. But media players can't handle every format.

MediaCoder can convert videos in a variety of formats.

MediaCoder isn't the easiest program. But it will help you with difficult files. It doesn't work with copy-protected videos. It will run on Macs, but features are limited.

INSURANCE LIST

Nobody likes to think about disasters. But it pays to prepare for them. A home inventory, while tedious to compile, helps with insurance claims.

Home Inventory guides you through the process and stores the information. You can include photos and receipts.

Keep a copy of your inventory list in a safe-deposit box. It won't be any good if it floats away in a flood. Home Inventory runs on PCs and the Mac.

Contact Kim Komando at gnstech@gns.gannett.com.