SEO Steps to Optimize Your Website

SEO optimize your blog or make it appear on top Search Engine Results to enhance the traffic on your site. Basically, the thing matters here, is to figure out the keywords on which you want the visitors to reach your site through Search Engine Results Page (SERP). If you are new to blogging and SEO in particular, you should be aware of some basic SEO tips to improve your site’s ranking in the SERPs.

SEO Steps to Optimize Your Website in SERP

1. Keywords in Title Tag

Title Tag is one of the most significant elements to position your webpage higher in your chosen keyword. This tag gets visible in the clickable link on the SERPs. It’s better to start your title with a long-tail keyword having less competition. Try to use your Keyword within the range of 65 characters, as search engine don’t consider anything after 65 character limit. Don’t repeat your Keyword in your title; otherwise your site could be penalized.

2. Use Keywords in Header Tags

Header tags are one of the most imperative On-page search engine optimization factors. Use the similar keywords in all heading tags. This way, you can easily bring focus of the page on a sole keyword while getting superiority in the Search Engines. You should better utilize your main keyword in first heading tag while trying to keep the Keyword at first.

3. Use Keywords in Image Alt tag

Images can express many words but SE Spiders don’t translate images, they only read the alt tag to understand the image with textual description. Therefore, it is vital to provide a significant description of an image with using keywords. It will optimize the images used in your content and rank them higher in image searches.

4. The Power of Internal Linking

One significant factor of SEO that is often ignored is Internal Linking. The better approach is to reactivate and revitalize the old posts in archive, as compared to link them in your fresh posts. Don’t miscalculate the authority of internal linking in the distribution of page rank.

5. Links from Directories

Planting in directories, such as Yahoo, DMOZ and other article and content listings can be quite helpful to achieve positive ranking overall. Some people believe that it’s not possible to list your content on DMOZ, especially if you don’t have much credible data, but if you could, it may bring you positive results.

6. Use Meta Description

Though Google is now giving less importance to meta-tags, there are two meta-tags that still matter in SEO, But, Meta description Tag still has importance from a human and search engine perspective. Description meta-tag is what you use to illustrate your website. In fact, this description is what the visitors see when your site appears on the search results.

7. Use Keywords Meta Tag

Fill your Keyword tags with relevant keywords while avoiding replicas and Keyword stuffing. The Keywords you mention in the keyword tag should be relevant to the context of your page. Keywords used in meta-keywords-tag must somehow appear somewhere within the body of text. Otherwise, your webpage can be penalized for irrelevant content.

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Tips To Increase Page Rank

Page Rank is a link analysis algorithm which is used by search engines to determine relative importance of your link within their database. Here I’ll tell you how to increase page rank

How is Page Rank Calculated?

Page Rank is calculated by various algorithms made by search engines, in simple words, Page Rank is calculated upon the number of links on your site; these links Include:

1. Backlinks.
2. Inbound links.
3. Internal links.
4. External links.
5. No-Follow links.
6. Do-Follow links.

Google and other Page Ranking sites analyze these links and assign a numerical page rank from 1 to 10 to your website. Below we will discuss Top 15 Killer Tips To Increase Page Rank

How To Increase Page Rank?

1. High Quality Content:

In order to increase Page Rank you must have unique quality content which your readers want to share with their friends. You can read Tips For Writing Engaging Content.

2. Site Submitting:

To boost Page Rank you must have high quality Backlinks and the best way to generate quality backlinks is to submit your site on different web directories and article directories.

Some Good Web And Article Directories Are:

• DMOZ
• Yahoo Directory
• Best Of The Web
• Ezine Articles
• Article Base
• Go Articles

3. Guest Posting:

This is one of the most used and best technique to increase Page Rank. Most Blogs have options of guest posting through which you can post at their blog and get two or three backlinks in return to your blog this really helps if you are posting on good Page Rank Blog with the same Niche as yours.

4. Link Exchange:

This is one of the most old techniques but it still works, in order to get a good PageRank you should get higher Page Rank sites to link to your site, through this you will firstly get a good Page Rank and will get traffic from that site.

5. Keep Updating:

Google really likes Sites that keep their content fresh and unique. The more you post, the more Google will crawl your site and the more chances for you to increase page rank ;)

6. Commenting On Other Blogs:

Commenting is a very crucial process in generating a good Page Rank. In Blogging Community you must be very socially active. Some Blogs are Do-Follow, which can help you generate back links to your site by just commenting on their posts. Nowadays most blogs have CommentLuv Plugin installed on their site which automatically places a link to their last blog post at the end of their comment.

• Why You Should Comment on Other Blogs?

7. Social Bookmarking:

Social Bookmarking is a very effective method to increase Page Rank because by sharing your Site on different Social Sites you will get a free Backlink and Traffic. Some of the most popular Social Bookmarking Sites Are:

• Facebook
• Google Plus
• Squidoo
• Digg
• Hub Pages
• Stumble Upon

8. Website Accessibility:

If Your Website is down for a long period of time, Google may reduce the ranking of your site. So You should always keep Your Website accessible.

9. Using Commonly Searched Keywords:

As You know people search using keywords and not the whole sentence so if you have used a keyword which is very frequently searched then you get a higher chance of your website being visited and MORE VISITORS = BETTER PAGE RANK.

10. Website Advertising:

You can make an Ad or a banner for your site and advertise it on different website, through this you will get good back links and traffic.

11. Create Multiple Pages:

If You create multiple Pages on Your Site this will strengthen your internal linking and will ultimately increase Page Rank.

12. Participate In Forums:

Google loves forums that are most frequently updated and by getting a back link from these forums you will succeed on increasing Page Rank.

13. Using Signatures:

You can add a link to your website in your online signatures. For example, you can add signatures in your email and forum posts but don’t try to spam because you can be blocked.

14. When Does Google Re-Evaluate Page Rank?

Google Re-Evaluates Page Rank about Three to Four times per year, so almost every Three months Google calculates Your Page Rank again.

15. Never Use Illegal Tactics:

Using illegal tactics can get you banned from Google and Google is very smart so never think that you can deceive Google because if they find out that you are using illegal techniques which are against their policy they will block you. Stay away from those tactics using these legitimate techniques will improve traffic.

Orginal Post from: https://allbloggingtips.com/tips-to-increase-page-rank/

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Factors Of Efficient WordPress Theme for your blog

It is simple to understand why WP themes request a lot interest. With the proper theme, you can accommodate all the smart little widgets and codes, and may also indicate far better online search engine rankings and in return, you might get lots of traffic to your website.

So precisely what factors you have to think of making this whole theme-hunting business simpler? Here are five necessary ones:

1) Theme Dimensions of WordPress Themes

WordPress themes are available in 2 column or 3 column formats, with widths ranging from 500 pixels to 960 pixels wide and nowadays full-width theme with 1180px container are very popular. A 2-column style can look more compact and reader-friendly if you are blogging for non-profit purposes. Considered that you have fewer pictures of links or products to other sites to show, you can focus exclusively on the material without leading readers far from your site.

On the other hand, if you are blogging for income, you may want to consider a 3-column WordPress theme that have the capability to accommodate your Google Adsense, Chitika, and Text Link Ads codes quickly without squeezing everything in the content area. 3-column designs allow space for expansion, however in case you’ve filled all offered area with ads, then it is a time you removed the non-performers and utilize simply the marketing services that work for that certain blog site.

2) Use of Graphics

A design with icons and images can look excellent; nevertheless, it rarely improves your web traffic or client base. In fact, the majority of “A-list” blog site authors have plain vanilla styles with a basic logo design on top. Lowering the quality of images also suggests much quicker packing time and less stress on your servers. This essential component of server load become apparent only if you have 10s of many visitors a day, but it is worth creating for the future.

A image-laden design also sidetracks readers from the material itself. This is the factor that blog sites like Engadget and Tech Crunch usage images intensively in the product locations to add value to a post; however, the theme itself is rather minimalist and basic.

Preferably, a WordPress theme needs to allow you to use your personal header image for stronger branding functions, yet replace images and icons with links and text, or merely not utilize them at all unless absolutely needed.

3) Compatibility with Plugins

Remember that the function of your blog is to supply timely, appropriate material to your readers, Any design that protects or enhances the reader experience is terrific, any theme that subtracts from the experience is bad.

Another time-consuming part of the website is to setup WP plugins which enhance the performance of your website. There are plugins out there for practically everything you want to finish with your blog site, but while most of them are complimentary and easily available for free, it’s not constantly simple to set up the plugins and put the codes into your WordPress theme.

If your theme is too complicated, it might be a headache to even position that a person line of code you have to make a plugin work. This is frequently the case with advanced AJAX-based WordPress themes that have a lot of files and heavy coding. I’ve constantly chosen an easier theme that abides by the default WordPress style as much as possible, so I can reduce the learning curve and simply proceed with my life.

4) Search Engine Optimization

SEO is critical, however at the end of the day if you have content worth reading you’ll get the rankings. Content is king, keep it unique and updated. This does not suggest that you do not require SEO; means that as far as optimization is concerned, all you need to do is to make sure:

( a) Your tags are formatted properly, with the name of the post initially followed by the name of the blog site – some designs can do this immediately without change to the code or usage of a plugin

( b) All your blog site material titles use the H1 tag, with the primary keywords used instead of non-descriptive text for better SEO significance

( b) Your theme has clean source codes, and if possible all format is connected to an external CSS file which you can customize individually

5) Plug-And-Play Ease of Use

It is hard to make comparisons due to the big amount of free and paid themes out there, it is still a smart concept to have a test blog site site. Test any theme you mean on utilizing, and make sure your test blog website is also fitted with all the plugins and various widgets used on your official blog site. The last thing you want is for your readers begin seeing strange error messages on your blog.

Can the design be set up quickly on an existing blog website without needing to move things around? Can the same style be used and personalized easily on your other blog sites? These are some included things you might wish to think about when theme-shopping, specifically if every minute of downtime on your blog website might suggest lost revenues.

Final Comments

At the end of the day, a design is merely a design. Instead of investing your time installing them, it might be better to hire someone to do this job and focus more on your readers. You might also wish to think about purchasing “plug-and-play” themes for a small expense. We have more than likely among the very best themes around; nevertheless if you’re short on cash, there are certainly more inexpensive alternatives we can provide.

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OK, Google: valuable voice commands for Android

Before you start talking, a note: For a fully hands-free experience, you'll need to set up always-listening voice control, which will allow your phone to wake up and start listening anytime you say "OK, Google." To do that, open the Google app on your device, tap the menu icon in the upper-left corner and tap Settings. Next, tap Voice and then "OK Google" Detection. Follow the steps there to enable the system and train it to recognize your voice.
If you have an older device that doesn't support that option, you can still use the commands listed below; you'll just have to tap the microphone icon on your home screen first to start the listening process.

Device control and tools

• Turn Wi-Fi on/off
• Turn Bluetooth on/off
• Turn my flashlight on/off
• Turn airplane mode on/off
• Turn up/down the volume
• Dim/brighten the screen
• Enable/disable [battery saver mode] (and other system features, such as mute)
• Take a photo/selfie
• Record a video
• Set a timer for [10 minutes]
• Open [Yelp] (or any app)
• Open [computerworld.com] (or any website)
• Metronome
• Bubble level
• Flip a coin
• Roll a die
• Start a run (requires a fitness app like Strava, Runkeeper, Runtastic or Endomondo)

Time, weather and current information

• What time is it in [Paris]?
• What time zone is [Phoenix] in?
• When is the sunset tonight?
• When's the sunrise in [London]?
• Do I need an umbrella today?
• Is it going to rain this weekend?
• When is it going to rain next?
• What's the weather in [Kalamazoo]?
• Will I need a jacket tomorrow?
• How hot is it gonna be on [Saturday]?
• When's the next [Cubs] game?
• What was the score of the [Cardinals] game last night?
• Did the [Marlins] win their last game?
• What's [Google] stock trading at today? (or just spell out a stock ticker symbol -- e.g., "G-O-O-G")

Location and navigation

• How's the traffic to work?
• Is [Steak 'n Shake] open right now?
• How late is [Office Depot] open?
• What time does [Target] open tomorrow?
• What's a good [Mexican] place near me?
• What's the best [sushi] nearby?
• What restaurants are near me?
• Where is the nearest [Burger King]?
• Where's a [museum] around here?
• Where's the closest [bowling alley]?
• What movies are playing nearby?
• Navigate to [123 South Main Street]
• Go to [California Pizza Kitchen] with public transportation
• Take me to [Bank of America] by foot
• Take me home
• 
  

Messaging and communication

• Text [Grover] that [I'm running late]
• Send text to [Ernie], mobile -- [I enjoy cheese]
• Send email to [Gordon] -- [I'll call you in 20 minutes]
• Send email to [Guy Smiley]. Subject: [Pickles.] Body: [Dill is always the way to go]
• Send [Hangout] message to [Bert] -- [wanna grab lunch?] (also works with WhatsApp and other third-party messaging clients)
• Start a video call with [Maria]
• Post to Twitter -- [What a gorgeous day!] (requires Twitter app to be installed)
• Post to Google+ -- [Hello, all of you stunning people] (requires Google+ app to be installed)
• Check my voicemail
• Read my messages
• Call [Mom], mobile/home/work
• Call [my brother] on speakerphone
• Call [McDonald's on Third Street]
• Call the [Hilton in Downtown Chicago]
• What is [Zoe's] number?
• What's the phone number for [Applebee's]?
• What is area code [323]?

Organization and personal info

• Add to my [grocery] list (or any list name you want -- your phone will prompt you to speak the item or items you want to add; when finished, say either "finished" or "that's it")
• Add [Purchase beef] to my [to-do] list (or any list name you want; with this command as well as the previous command and the next two commands, you'll be able to choose to have the info saved into Google Keep or any other compatible note-taking app)
• Note to self: [The Beef Purchasers would be a good name for a band]
• Write this down for me: [There are different ways you can make a note to yourself by speaking]
• Remind me to [take out the trash] in [two hours]
• Remind me to [put out dog food] when [I get home]
• Remind me to call [the boss] when [I'm at the airport]
• Remind me to [eat at Canter's] next time [I'm in L.A.]
• Wake me up at [7 a.m.] [tomorrow]
• Set an appointment for a [haircut] [tomorrow at noon]
• When is my next meeting/appointment?
• What's my schedule for [July 17th]?
• What does my day look like on [the 3rd]?
• When is [Father's Day]?
• When will my package arrive? (requires shipping confirmation to be present in Gmail)
• Show me my bills (requires bills to be present in Gmail)
• Show me my bills due this week/next week/[in July] (requires bills to be present in Gmail)
• Show me my photos from [France] (requires photos to be present in Google Photos)

Music and video

• Listen to [The Beatles]
• Listen to ["No Rain"]
• Listen to [party music]
• Play music for [working out]
• Listen to [Pearl Jam] on [Spotify]
• Next song
• Pause the music
• Play me [Soundgarden] videos on YouTube
• Show me the trailer for ["Ice Age 5"]
• What's this song? (identifies music playing out loud in the room)

Travel

• When does [United flight 1807] arrive?
• Is [Southwest 2093] on time?
• Is my flight on time? (requires confirmation to be present in Gmail)
• Find me a nonstop flight from [L.A. to Chicago]
• Show me my trip in [October] (requires confirmation to be present in Gmail)
• Show me my trip to [Chicago] (requires confirmation to be present in Gmail)
• Show me my hotel reservations (requires confirmation to be present in Gmail)
• Where's my hotel? (requires confirmation to be present in Gmail)
• Show me restaurants near my hotel (requires confirmation to be present in Gmail)
• Search for hotels in [Boston]
• Book me a table at [Plum Tree Inn] (requires OpenTable app to be installed)
• Translate ["sausage"] to [German]
• What's [French] for ["cheese"]?

Conversions and calculations

• What's [75] times [812]?
• What's [16.2] percent of [94.7]?
• What's [28 inches] in [millimeters]?
• What's [12] in [hexadecimal]?
• What's [25 U.S. dollars in [Euros]?
• What's the tip for [15 dollars]?

Food, drink and nutrition info

• Show me [salmon] recipes
• Show me things I can make with [chicken]
• How do I make a [Manhattan]?
• What's in a [margarita]?
• How many calories are in [popcorn]?
• How much fat is in [cheddar cheese]?
• What's the healthiest kind of [cheese]?

General knowledge and searches

• Who founded [Snapchat]?
• Who directed the first ["Harry Potter"]?
• Who's in the cast of ["Scrubs"]?
• Where did [Zach Braff] go to college?
• Where was [Jimmy Kimmel] born?
• How much is [Mark Zuckerberg] worth?
• When did [Johnny Carson] die?
• How did [Johnny Carson] die?
• What's [Natalie Portman's] real name?
• What movies has [Natalie Portman] been in?
• How tall is [Jennifer Lawrence]?
• How old is [Larry Page]?
• What's the definition of ["phobia"]?
• What are some synonyms for ["beautiful"]?
• Who's the CEO of [Google]?
• Who is [Marissa Mayer] married to?
• Who wrote ["In The Plex"]?
• What are the dimensions of ["Starry Night"]?
• When was the first episode of ["Seinfeld"]?
• What's the theme song to ["Friends"]?
• How long is ["The Angry Birds Movie"]?
• How long is the [Golden Gate Bridge]?
• How far away is the [moon]?
• What's the temperature of the [sun]?
• How tall is the [Statue of Liberty]?
• Show me photos of the [New York skyline]
• Search Twitter for [Olympics] (requires Twitter app to be installed)
• Search for [flowers] on Tumblr (requires Tumblr app to be installed)

Silly stuff

• Play Pac-Man
• Go go gadget [Netflix] (or any other app name)
• Make me a sandwich
• Who's on first?
• Who are you?
• When am I?
• Beam me up, Scotty
• What is Matt Damon's Bacon number?
• What does the fox say?
• Do a barrel roll
• Askew
• How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
• What's the loneliest number?
• What's the answer to life, the universe and everything?

And finally...

• Hello

This story, "OK, Google: 160 valuable voice commands for Android" was originally published by Computerworld.

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MicroVision SHOWWX+ Laser Pico Projector

MicroVision’s SHOWWX+ Laser Pico Projector

makes a fella glad to be alive. Who knows what those poor sodbusters in the Wild West did for entertainment, what with the lack of electricity? Today, we not only have electricity, but we are making it our bitch. Take this accomplishment from MicroVision, which throws out everything we used to know about projected images. No color wheels. No lamps that burn out after all too short of time and are so expensive to replace that you might as well buy a new projector.

With the Laser Pico, the iPhone-sized device takes care of all that for you to project an image of up to 100 inches, guaranteed to be in focus at all times thanks to the laser technology. Made specifically for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod, it is also compatible to other devices such as mobile phones, handheld gaming systems, and cameras or camcorders. Multiple uses here: view family photos, give business presentations, watch movies, and do it all at about 1/3 of what a regular projector will cost you. Device boasts 5,000:1 contrast, 15 lumens, and 16:9 widescreen images of 848 x 480 pixels. 

The MicroVision SHOWWX+ is a portable HDMI laser pico projector that features ultra clear and high contrast video with vivid color. It's also great because you can plug it directly into your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to project your favorite pictures and videos on the nearest flat surface. Take projection out of the boardroom and into the palm of you hand. Since it fits in your pocket and runs on batteries, it can go anywhere you go. Project a movie on your ceiling while you are stuck in bed with the sniffles, review your presentation slides on the back of the seat in front of you on the airplane, do an instant replay of a friend's party foul before you upload it to YouTube... the possibilities for good and evil are endless!

Product Specifications

• Turn your iPhone, iPod, or iPad into an HDMI projector
Play movies, view photos & presentations, even stream video
• Plug & Play: So easy to use, even for non-geeks
• Sleek and small, about the size of an iPhone
• Image is always in focus, even on curved surfaces
• Projects images from 6" to 100" a dark room
• Wide projection angle brings the big screen closer to the user
• High-resolution (WVGA) and 16:9 format
• Laser light source produce lifelike, vivid colors with exceptional contrast
• 3.5mm stereo jack - audio pass through when supplied
• Will operate off wall power when plugged into a wall socket
• Connects to these Apple products with a single cable (included):
• iPhone 4
• iPad, iPad2
• iPod Touch, Nano (3rd gen or newer), Classic
• Composite adapter to other TV-Out devices via a dedicated adapter cable (included):
• Digital cameras
• Camcorders
• Non-Apple mobile phones
• Portable gaming devices
• Non-Apple tablets
• Gaming console
• Requires the SHOWWX+ VGA Dock (sold separately) and VGA-Out capability:
• Laptops
• Netbooks
• MacBook / MacBook Pro
• Battery: Rechargeable, up to 2 hours of battery life on a full charge
• Wall adapter included for charging via micro-USB
• Specs:
• Resolution: WVGA (848 x 480)
• Brightness: 15 Lumens
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Widescreen
• Focus: No user focus adjustment needed. Image is always in focus.
• Refresh Rate: 60 Hz (nominal)
• Color Gamut: >200% NTSC
• Contrast Ratio: >5,000:1
• Throw Ratio: 1:1 (projection distance/image diagonal)
• Image size: 150mm to 2500mm (6" - 100")
• Projection distance: 150mm to 2500mm (6" - 100")
• Regulatory: Class 2 laser product
• Weight (with battery): 4.3 oz
• Box Includes:
• SHOWWX+ laser pico projector
• Rechargeable battery
• Wall charger
• Cable for iPhone, iPad, iPod
• Composite adapter
• Storage pounch
• Micro-USB cable
• Wrist strap
• User guide

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Free Disk Tools for SysAdmins

Best free tools for partitioning, cloning, diagnostics, repair, recovery, encryption, wiping or drive information and is intended to supplement the list provided on 101 Free SysAdmin Tools.

1. TestDisk

TestDisk allows you to repair boot sectors, recover deleted partitions, fix damaged partition tables, and recover deleted data, as well as copy files from deleted/inaccessible partitions. It works on a number of different file systems including FAT/NTFS/exFAT/ext2.

Note: Bundled with TestDisk is a companion application called PhotoRec. PhotoRec recovers photos, videos and documents from different storage media by going beyond the file system and looking for specific data blocks (i.e. clusters) belonging to the missing file(s).

When you first run TestDisk you are asked to choose whether you want a log file to be created. You are then given a list of partition table types to choose from (this will allow the application to use the correct signature when reading the partitions on all available disks), before being presented with a list of available hard drive partitions to perform a selected action on. The choice of actions you can perform on each partition include:

(1)    analysing the partition for the correct structure (and repairing it accordingly if a problem is found)

(2)    changing the disk geometry

(3)    deleting all data in the partition table

(4)    recovering the boot sector

(5)    listing and copying files

(6)    recovering deleted files

(7)    creating an image of the partition

2. EaseUS Partition Master Free

EaseUS Partition Master Free is a partition manager that allows you to resize, move, merge or split paritions, convert disks, recover deleted or lost partitions, check the partition for errors, migrate the OS to another HDD/SSD, perform disk defragmentation, and more.

When you launch EaseUS Partition Master Free, use the operations listed on the left hand pane or the top menu to perform an action against the selected partition(s).

3. WinDirStat

WinDirStat is a disk usage and clean-up utility that allows you to visualize how data is distributed across a disk and what types of data or which locations are hogging up most space.

Once you’ve loaded WinDirStat and chosen which drives you’d like to analyse, you are presented with a tree view of the files and folders contained on each drive as well as a graphical representation showing which files are taking up most space. Clicking on a box within the graphic will display the file in question within the tree view on the left hand pane of the window.

4. CloneZilla

CloneZilla is a disk imaging and cloning tool that is also packaged with Parted Magic but originally available as a standalone tool in two versions; CloneZilla Live and CloneZilla SE (Server Edition). CloneZilla Live is a bootable Linux distribution that allows you to clone individual machines and CloneZilla SE is a package that you install and configure on a Linux distribution that allows you to push images to multiple clients simultaneously over the network.

5. OSFMount

Using this utility you can mount image files as drive letters and then browse the data directly. OSFMount supports image files such as DD, ISO, BIN, as well as VMWare Images (*.VMDK) and Nero Burning ROM Images (*.NRG). A neat additional feature of OSFMount is its ability to create RAM disks, useful if you want additional security (since everything within RAM will be flushed when the machine is shutdown) or need to store data that requires fast access times (such as browser cache, database files, etc.).

After you run OSFMount, go to File > Mount new virtual disk… to get started. Remember to leave “Read-only drive” checked, otherwise you risk overwriting data within the image you’ve just mounted.

6. Defraggler

Defraggler is a lightweight yet powerful defragmentation tool that allows you to defrag whole drives or selected files/folders. It has an intuitive interface that helps you to quickly visualize how much of the drive is fragmented and which files are causing most fragmentation.

Once you’ve performed an Analysis of the drive, you can use the Drive map to see which files are fragmented. Hover your mouse over a particular square on the map and click on it to display the files associated with that particular colour (e.g. fragmented, not fragmented, etc.).

7. SSDLife

SSDLife displays information about your SSD drive, its health status and estimated lifetime – all useful for helping you to plan ahead and take action accordingly.

SSDLife automatically detects the model of your SSD drive and displays information about it instantly upon loading the application.

Tip: Each SSD manufacturer should have their own SSD drive management software which gives information similar to SSDLife Free. For example, the “Intel SSD Toolbox” can be used with the SSD shown in the screenshot above to display health status, detailed device information, and estimated life remaining.

8. Darik’s Boot And Nuke (DBAN)

DBAN is a bootable application that forensically wipes hard drives to prevent identity theft. This tool is useful when you are recycling or decommissioning a server/workstation.

The two main options in DBAN are Interactive mode and Automatic mode. Interactive mode allows you to select which drives to wipe and which options to use when wiping them. Automatic mode will automatically wipe all discovered drives – no questions asked!

9. HD Tune

HD Tune can measure the read/write performance of your HDD/SSD, scan for errors, check the health status and display drive information.

Once you start the application, select the drive from the drop down list and navigate to the appropriate tab to view the information you need or start a scan accordingly.

10. VeraCrypt

VeraCrypt is an open-source encryption application that can encrypt entire drives/partitions. It can also create an encrypted volume that appears as a normal file but is only accessible when mounted via VeraCrypt using the provided password. VeraCrypt is built upon the now defunct TrueCrypt but fixes many of the vulnerabilities and security concerns that plagued TrueCrypt.

When you launch VeraCrypt, start by selecting a drive letter and clicking the “Create Volume” button. This will launch the Volume Creation Wizard which walks you through the process of encrypting a partition or creating an encrypted container file.

11. CrystalDiskInfo

CrystalDiskInfo is a hard drive health monitoring tool that displays drive information, disk temperature and monitors S.M.A.R.T attributes. CrystalDiskInfo can be configured to trigger an alert (i.e. write to the event log, send an e-mail or make a sound) when a certain threshold is reached, so it can be left to actively monitor the HDD and notify you automatically.

The bar at the top displays all active hard drives. Clicking on each one will display the information for that drive. The Health Status and Temperature icons change colour depending on their value.

12. Recuva

In a few simple clicks, Recuva allows you to recover files from your computer that were accidentally deleted or that have become damaged or corrupt. The Quick-Start Wizard walks you through the recovery process by asking a couple of simple questions about what you want to recover and where you want to recover it from and then initiating a quick scan. You can skip the wizard and go straight to the application if you wish.

From the Recuva interface, select the drive to scan from the drop down box on the left hand side, choose a pre-defined file type filter from the drop down box on the right hand side and then click “Scan” to get started. The filters can be edited to add or remove file types by extension. The Options button allows you to modify options such as enabling a Deep Scan (instead of a Quick Scan), changing the viewing mode, as well as increasing the secure overwriting method (how many times to overwrite a block of data).

13. TreeSize

An alternative to WinDirStat is a lightweight application called TreeSize. TreeSize quickly scans drives or folders and displays the folder sizes in descending order (by default) to help you pinpoint which folders are taking up most space. The NTFS Compression flag can be enabled directly from within the application.

Once installed, TreeSize can also be started from the context menu by right clicking on a drive or folder and selecting “TreeSize Free” which will automatically open an instance of the application and display the details for that drive or folder.

Note: When you have Defraggler, Recuva and TreeSize installed at the same time, you can initiate the Defraggler and Recuva features directly from within TreeSize for a given folder – all three applications integrate seamlessly.

Using the menu bar or the icons across the taskbar you can select options such as sorting by size or name, showing values in GB/MB/KB, displaying the percentage/file size/file count of the listed folders, and choosing which drives you wish to display details for.

14. HDDScan

HDDScan is a hard drive diagnostic utility used to test for disk errors, show S.M.A.R.T attributes, monitor disk temperature and perform a read/write benchmark.

When you launch HDDScan, select the drive you wish to perform an action on from the drop down box on the left. Once selected, click the icon in the middle to get started.

15. Disk2vhd

Disk2vhd allows you to create a Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) of a live machine for use with Microsoft Virtual PC or Microsoft Hyper-V. This is a great tool for simulating your live environment within a virtual environment for testing purposes or if you wish to have a virtualized backup of your live environment for redundancy purposes.

Use of this tool is simple. Choose a name and location for the VHD file to be stored, select which volumes to include and click “Create”. Disk2vhd also has some command line options, allowing you to script the creation of VHD files.

16. NTFSWalker

NTFSWalker allows you to perform a low-level analysis of all records (included deleted data) within the MFT table of an NTFS drive. You can examine the properties of each record and extract its contents out to a file.

When you load NTFSWalker, you are first asked to select a disk to scan. Once you select the disk and confirm which partition you wish to view, the MFT records are displayed on the left hand pane and the details are displayed on the right hand pane. From the right hand pane, you can view the record properties, preview the file or review the contents in raw format (Hex Data).

17. GParted

GParted is an open-source application for managing partitions. Using GParted you can manipulate partitions (i.e. create, delete, resize, move, copy) and attempt to recover data from lost partitions on a vast amount of file systems.

GParted comes as a bootable CD which loads a Linux distribution containing the GParted application. When you download the ISO file you will need to burn the image onto a CD or follow the instructions to install it onto a bootable USB drive. When you launch GParted, you are presented with a list of partitions to choose from. Select the desired partition and choose an option to perform by right clicking on it, pressing an icon on the taskbar or navigating to an option on the menu bar.

18. SpeedFan

SpeedFan is a useful diagnostic utility that allows you to view details about the health of your machine, including hard disk temperatures and S.M.A.R.T (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) attributes.

When you launch SpeedFan, the main tabs you will use for hard drive information are the Readings tab and the S.M.A.R.T tab. The Clocks tab can be used to compare temperature, voltage or fan speeds between two or more objects.

19. MyDefrag

MyDefrag is a disk defragmentation and optimization utility that offers fast performance with little overhead and a number of actions tailored towards different disk uses (e.g. an action specifically for defragging the system disk, an action specifically for defragging flash memory drives, or the ability to only analyse the disk). MyDefrag also allows you to create or customize your own scripts and has a command line version so you can schedule the running of the application at given times.

When you launch MyDefrag, you are presented with a series of scripts to choose from. Each script performs a given action against the disk(s) chosen from the bottom pane. Once you’ve selected a script and checked the desired disk(s), hit “Run” to initiate the action.

20. DiskCryptor

An alternative to TrueCrypt is DiskCryptor. DiskCryptor is an easy-to-use open-source application that allows you to encrypt whole partitions using the TwoFish / AES / Serpent algorithms, or a combination of any of the three. DiskCryptor supports FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS and exFAT file systems, allowing encryption of internal or external drives.

When you launch DiskCryptor, select a partition and click “Encrypt” to get started. You will then need to select which encryption algorithm to use and will be asked to enter a password. The encryption process will begin as soon as you press “OK”.

Any free tools you know of that are missing from this list? Leave us a comment!

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