Previously we have covered about a tool called Connectify which can make Windows 7 into a WiFi hotspot so that your friends can connect to it. Virtual WiFi, one of the features that Microsoft introduced in Windows 7 and Virtual WiFi makes it possible to use the wireless networking adapter of a PC running Windows 7 as a wireless hotspot for additional systems. Virtual Router Manager is another free tool which turns any Windows 7 or Windows 2008 R2 Computer into a WiFi Hot Spot using Windows 7’s Wireless Hosted Network technology.

The Wireless Network create/shared with Virtual Router uses WPA2 Encryption, and there is not way to turn off that encryption. This is actually a feature of the Wireless Hosted Network API’s built into Windows 7 and 2008 R2 to ensure the best security possible.

You can rename the Virtual network and set your own password as well, all you need to do is to make sure the password is 8 characters long. You can start and stop the virtual router any time from the interface.

Download Virtual Router Manager

If any of the Windows system files are missing or are corrupted, Windows may not behave as expected. For example, some Windows functions may not work, or Windows may crash. Windows 7, like previous version, has an inbuilt tool called system File Checker tool (SFC.exe) which scans for missing or corrupted system files and repairs them. Using System File Checker tool (SFC.exe), you can determine which file is causing the issue, and then replace the file.

To start System File Checker (SFC.exe), follow the steps below.

1. Open an elevated command prompt, i.e command prompt run as an administrator. To do this, click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator.

2. Now type the command sfc /scannow and press enter. The System File Checker will start checking the system.

This process might take some time as it has to scan all the system files for errors.

3. Once the scan is complete it will display the result to inform whether there are any issues with the system files.

The sfc /scannow command scans all protected system files and replaces incorrect versions with correct Microsoft versions. In case the tool is not able to fix the error, it is better to restore the system to a previous state using System restore.

Speccy is an advanced System Information freeware tool for your PC which provides you with detailed information about your PC. Speccy provides you with information about your hardware memory, processor used etc. This could be useful if you have forgotten the PC configuration over a period of time. Although some of the information about your hardware is available in system information under Windows, it does not give a detailed information.

Speccy will give you detailed statistics on every piece of hardware in your computer, including CPU, Motherboard, RAM, Graphics Cards, Hard Disks, Optical Drives, Audio support. Additionally Speccy adds the temperatures of your different components, so you can easily see if there’s a problem.

Speccy can be useful in many ways, in case you are upgrading your memory, you can see how many slots are available or get the exact config of the memory currently used by the system etc.

Speccy interface is neatly arranged into different sections so that you have clear idea about the system information.

Download Speccy

IObit Advanced SystemCare PRO is an application to protect and speed up your computer. It provides an always-on, automated, all-in-one PC Healthcare Service with anti-spyware, privacy protection, performance tune-ups, and system cleaning capabilities. It was previously called as Advanced WindowsCare Professional. This utility also helps you to fix errors, cleans out clutter, optimizes internet and download speeds, ensures personal security and maintains maximum computer performance automatically.

IObit will give away Advanced SystemCare PRO within 24 hours randomly from November 20 to 27 as a thanksgiving present, which is normally sold at $29.95. Take your time to get a free copy of Advanced SystemCare PRO at http://db.iobit.com/license-free/asc-free-license.php.

Certified by Microsoft, Advanced SystemCare PRO is fully compatible with Windows 7. So watch out for this free give away from November 20 to 27.

Giveaway Page

We have covered lots of Twitter clients including Twitter gadget for Windows 7. Statuzer is another new Twitter Client based on Adobe Air and has some great feature like multi account, multi columns, thumbnail previews etc. With Statuzer, you can add multiple accounts of not only Twitter, but also other social networks like identi.ca, StatusNet and Hellotipi. Statuzer also supports different themes and is currently in beta.

This application has the ability to show thumbnails for images and videos and it supports thumbs for Twitpic, yfrog, Flickr, YouTube and Vimeo. You can use your webcam to take a snapshot and sent it to Twitpic with your status.

Main features are :

• Multi-account for Twitter, identi.ca, StatusNet (former laconi.ca) and Hellotipi
• Multi-columns and Single modes
• MP3 playing directly from Song.ly & tra.kz tweets
• Free and legal music search from Jamendo
• direct thumbs for Twitpic, yfrog, Flickr, YouTube and Vimeo
• Image and webcam upload to twitpic and Twitter profile image
• URLs preview
• Ping.fm integration

Download Statuzer

We have covered portable free utility Fix MSE and Fix IE for repairing Microsoft Security Essentials and IE8 respectively. The Windows Club has now released a new utility, Fix WU, which will fix any issues with the Windows Update. Windows update center is used to download and install updates and security fixes issues by Microsoft and in case you have any issues with the functioning of updates, just run this tool to fix it.

Fix WU Utility will re-register a total of 114 .dll,  ocx and .ax files which are required for the proper functioning of Windows Updates. The utility may take a few moments to run. On completion, you will see a dialog box: The process completed successfully.

It has been tested on Windows 7 & Vista, 32bit and 64bit versions.

Download Fix WU

We have covered quite a few desktop notifiers for Gmail and Gmail Notifier 2 is another simple and easy to use Gmail notifiers. There are some features which makes this utility different from other desktop notifiers. Gmail Notifier 2 provides support for multiple accounts and you can have different accounts in different colors working from the system tray. The color can be chosen when you install the tool or can be changed from the properties.

Features:

• Improved security
• Better integration with Gmail
• Multiple accounts
• Installer / Upgrade / Uninstaller

You can use the application even without install it on your desktop.

Download Gmail Notifier 2

There might be many instances where you want to shutdown PC after a specified time or when the downloads are completed. We have already covered few free utilities to shutdown Windows after a specified time. Shutdown After is another free utility by which you can set timer or assign hotkeys for windows shutdown, restart, log off, hibernate, stand by. You can set the timer for Windows to shutdown.

This can prove very helpful in situations, when you want your computer to get shutdown, restart, log off, hibernate, stand by after completion of some task or you want to perform shutdown operations by just key press.

Features of ShutDown After;

• A very fast way to perform shutdown operations
• A simple interface lets you schedule shutdown, hibernation, restart, log off, stand by easily
• Its hotkeys gives your finger tips all the power to perform shutdown operations
• It stays on your system tray and can be called with a single click
• The shutdown, hibernation, restart, log off, stand by are performed in a fastest way possible

ShutDown After can be used in cases like if you want computer to shutdown after some operation and you know an estimate time, schedule it to shutdown after that time.

Download ShutDown After

We have seen lots of URL shortening services in place now and these services mostly came into picture with micro blogging services like Twitter, Facebook etc. The problem with these shortened URLs is that you cannot actually find out where you are navigating, sometimes these links end you up in an embarrassing situation. LongURL Mobile Expander is a Firefox add-on which reveals shortened URLs. The add-on is based on the fact that you should always know where a link takes you before clicking on it.

Once you have installed the add-on it detects for any shortened URLs and displays the actual URL when you hover on top the URL. The add-on supports more than 200 shortening services (details here).

When you click the more link in the pop up, it shows you more details on the URL like keywords, meta description, conversations surrounding this URL etc.

LongURL is a pretty useful add-on if you are dealing with lots of shortened URLs.

Download LongURL

We have previously covered an article on how to change the library icons in Windows 7. Now we have a freeware tool which does this task even more easier than manually doing it. Replace Librarie Icons is a simple tool which allows you to change the library icons easily without having to do any editing. The application is developed by Deviantart user and does not require any  installation on Windows.

The application has two options to change the icons, one way is to select the icon from a dll file which is loaded default or select your own dll file and the second way is to select a new icon from file. In case you want to restore the old icon, you can do it easily by selecting the library icon and then clicking on the button to restore it.

This application should be useful for users who are not comfortable editing the library icon manually.

Download Replace Librarie Icons

Thanks to HowToGeek for this tip [Via]