Of the many utilities I come across (desktop/mobile/web-based), I rarely keep them or use them long enough to give them the credit due. One of the most important things you use (and probably don’t know) are the software utilities that sit on your many personal computing devices. Let me highlight some of the best I’ve seen recently.

1. Share Monitor 1.0 – Apparently developed by Abdollah Zavari for Softpedia – this portable Windows utility allows you to monitor accesses to files and folders you share from your computer. This a great idea and a wonderful alternative to the standard ways of doing this (Computer Management or Auditing). This utility is 32bit and is free. Download this utility here.

2. JavaRa –  Another amazing idea – this utility’s use is to remove older versions of the Java Runtime Environment from a computer. This utility was made for most Windows versions (without UAC enabled) and should be a godsend for those who may have many different versions of the Java runtime on their computer taking up space. The utility appears to allow for silent operation and other command-line options. With any utility you ma use to remove data, you should use caution and test this out thoroughly before using this on an important computer. One scenario I would be very wary of would be having a utility pre-packaged with a java runtime (like Alfresco) and what JavaRa might do. This utility is Open Source. More info here – download here.

3. Scribefire – As it turns out – I’m using Scribefire right now on Google Chrome, and it’s great! Scribfire is a browser extension that allows you to create and edit blog posts from within your browser. This utility is great for those looking to create quick posts or others who may not be exactly overjoyed with your current Blog’s web interface. The interface is simple and powerful from what I can immediately tell. More info on this utility can be found here  – you can download for Chrome or Firefox. The utility is free and is currently in Alpha for the Google Chrome.

So, that’s it for now. I look forward to showing you more stuff I see on a regular basis. Please feel free to suggest a utility you love and I’ll post it in a future column.