What's Hot: Products from Pocketec & DataEnter,

Take Your Files Wherever You Go

http://www.pocketec.net, 818-717-9556

Pocketec's Pockey DataStor is a portable USB 2.0 hard disk with 20GB, 30GB, or 40GB storage capacities. One reader from Brooklyn, New York, said that as an independent IT consultant, he uses the Pockey DataStor to transport files to and from his clients' sites. The reader said that when he's working on a big contract, he leaves his notebook PC at the client's office, then uses the Pockey DataStor to move files between the notebook PC and his office PC. The reader said, "It has proven to be the best IT investment I've ever made!"

You can also use the Pockey DataStor to carry thousands of digital photos or MP3 audio files. The portable hard disk installs on Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows Me OSs. Pricing is $299.95 for the 20GB model.

Eliminate Junk Email

http://www.mailwasher.net, [email protected]

Windows & .NET Magazine reader Bob Miller of Edina, Minnesota, loves Nick Bolton's MailWasher, shareware email software that eliminates spam. Miller said that MailWasher eliminated the junk mail that used to clog up his Inbox and dramatically reduced the viruses that come into his PC. "This software represents one of the nicest improvements in my computing experience since the advent of email," Miller said.

To make senders remove you from their lists, the software bounces unwanted email messages, and your email address appears invalid to senders. The software then automatically puts the senders' details on a blacklist so that you can automatically delete future messages.

The pricing structure of MailWasher is unique because you pay what you think the software is worth. The software currently lets you monitor an unlimited number of email accounts and supports Web-based accounts such as MSN Hotmail and AOL.

Import/Export Outlook Express

http://www.chattanooga.net/
~scochran/dbxtract.htm

Stacie White of Perham, Minnesota, was impressed with the amount of time DBXtract saved her company. White's IT group often rolls out new computers to employees, which involves transferring employees' mail files so that the employees can quickly resume working. However, White said, the mail transfer often isn't successful. By accident, White's group stumbled upon a Web site that boasted a tool that would expand .dbx files into messages, which you can then drag to the appropriate Microsoft Outlook Express folder. White said, "We put it to the test, and within 10 to 15 minutes we had the mail transferred in. What a breeze!"

DBXtract.exe is a 68KB freeware program that can extract all mail messages from individual .dbx files. The program runs on Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows NT, Windows Me, and Windows 9x systems.

Block Spam

http://www.dataenter.co.at/
products/xwall.htm,
[email protected]

Reader Gary Long of NewBreed Technologies in Portland, Oregon, said that DataEnter's XWall blocks unwanted messages at the Microsoft Exchange Server. The software rejects messages from known spammers that appear on antispam organizations' lists. Long said that XWall is easy to install and has reduced spam at his consulting organization. "It's a great product to reduce spam and protect against some of the VBScript email viruses that can cause havoc."

XWall scans inbound and outbound messages for viruses and blocks infected files from entering your environment. XWall also compresses sent messages to reduce bandwidth. XWall supports all versions of Exchange and costs $298 for a single server, regardless of the user count on the server.

TELL US ABOUT TOP PRODUCTS

Have you used a product that changed your IT experience by saving you time or easing your daily burden? Tell us about it! We want to write about the product in a future What's Hot column. Send your product nominations for What's Hot, including information about how the product helped you, to [email protected].