Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/tools/mbsahome.mspx

MBSA is a free tool that Microsoft provides to scan your system for updates and other security vulnerabilities. It provides links to the updates necessary, along with other instructions to secure your system. I’ve had several problems after implementing these instructions. I followed the instructions accurately, and the steps worked. The problem is that the instructions don’t warn you about possible things that could “break” by following the instructions. I had 2 different web sites break because parent paths were disabled (as suggested by MBSA). I’ve previously had problems after running the IIS Lockdown tool (as suggested by MBSA).

The point is, be sure you remember what changes you make, as you may have to go back and undo them.

GMail Drive

http://www.viksoe.dk/code/gmail.htm

GMail Drive is a Shell Namespace Extension that creates a virtual filesystem around your Google GMail account, allowing you to use GMail as a storage medium.
GMail Drive creates a virtual filesystem on top of your Google GMail account and enables you to save and retrieve files stored on your GMail account directly from inside Windows Explorer. GMail Drive literally adds a new drive to your computer under the My Computer folder, where you can create new folders, copy and drag’n'drop files to.

Beginners Guides: 99 Performance Tips for Windows XP

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1590