Look, Ma, no mouse: XP users should grab , a free keyboard-driven launcher application that allows you to access programs, files, and even Websites with just a few keystrokes. (Vista and Windows 7 users get the same functionality from the Start menu's search tool.)

Cleaner than you found it: To make sure that your programs uninstall completely, use --it's often more thorough than the programs' own supplied uninstaller routines.

Annoyance buster: If you're tired of User Account Control dialog boxes popping up all the time in Windows Vista, but you don't want to disable the security feature completely, grab to set it to Quiet Mode. Windows 7 has its own UAC controls, but can still benefit from TweakUAC.

Get your hands dirty with Greasemonkey: Optimize your Web browsing with for Firefox, an add-on that lets you choose among thousands of for blocking ads, changing the layouts of popular sites, and more. (Variants also exist for .)