Featured Freeware: Copernic Desktop Search

They wouldn't want you to believe it, but there's more to powered-up desktop indexing and searching than Google, Microsoft, or Yahoo. Copernic's Desktop Search tool makes it fast and easy to find documents, e-mails, and other files on local drives. Like other desktop search tools, it creates a searchable index of all the data on a computer's drives, and updates it every time a file is added, removed, or modified.

A left-side search column allows simple keyword queries and more refined searches based on file size, date, file type, or folder. Easy-to-read icons at the top of the screen let you limit searches by category, such as stored HTML pages, e-mail, and videos. The program is lightning-quick, displaying results as fast as you can type.

The program comes with a Deskbar, a sharp search window that appears in the Windows Taskbar and makes quick queries very handy. There are also optional search toolbars for Internet Explorer and Firefox. However, the freemium version might seem a bit thin on features compared to the licensed editions. The free version doesn't support searching Outlook appointments, can't display results as you type, can't index networked drives or save searches, and it does contain ads. Overall, Copernic offers an efficient, non-corporate way to search your PC, especially for multiple or large hard drives, but it doesn't offer you the world.