Beyond the Buzz: Exploring 9 Online Tools That Make Life Easier (Are They Really Illegal?)13 min read

Useful Online Tools: The internet is full of amazing tools designed to make our lives simpler, faster, and more productive. From converting tricky file types to getting help with writing or finding quick information, there’s an online service for almost everything.

Occasionally, you might stumble upon lists that sensationalize these tools, perhaps calling them “secret hacks” or even, provocatively, “illegal websites.” This kind of language is usually clickbait – designed to grab your attention. While some online activities are illegal, the vast majority of helpful online tools are perfectly legitimate.

In this post, we’re going to look at 9 such tools that often appear on lists of “life-changing” or sometimes misleadingly labeled “illegal” sites. We’ll break down what each one does, explain how it can make your life easier, and most importantly, clarify its actual legal standing.

Ready to discover some genuinely useful online resources? Let’s dive in!

1. Convertio: Effortless File Conversion (Useful Online Tools)

Stuck with a file your software can’t open? Convertio is your online translator for digital formats. It’s a cloud-based service that allows you to convert files from one format to another directly in your web browser.

• What it does: Handles conversions for over 2500 different formats across categories like documents (PDF, DOCX), images (JPG, PNG, HEIC), audio (MP3, WAV), video (MP4, MOV), archives (ZIP, RAR), and more.
• How it helps: Solves compatibility issues instantly. Need to submit a paper as a PDF? Convertio does it. Want to use an iPhone photo (HEIC) on software that only likes JPGs? Convertio handles it.
• Legality: Completely Legal. Convertio provides a conversion service. The legality depends on whether you have the right to convert the specific file (e.g., you own it or have permission). Converting your own photos or documents is fine. Converting a pirated movie would be illegal, but that’s misuse of the tool, not the tool itself being illegal.
• Usefulness: Essential for students, professionals, content creators, and anyone who deals with various file types.

2. Hemingway App: Sharpen Your Writing(Useful Online Tools)

Want to write clearer, more impactful sentences? The Hemingway App acts like an AI-powered copyeditor for your drafts.

• What it does: It analyzes your text and highlights areas for improvement, such as overly complex sentences, excessive adverbs, passive voice, and phrases with simpler alternatives.
• How it helps: Makes your writing bolder and clearer. It helps you identify wordy sentences and encourages more direct language, improving readability for your audience.
• Legality: Completely Legal. This is a writing assistance tool, no different than using a grammar checker.
• Usefulness: Invaluable for bloggers, students writing essays, marketing professionals, email writers, and anyone who wants to communicate more effectively in writing.

3. Consensus App: Get Answers from Research(Useful Online Tools)

Tired of sifting through endless Google results when you want a research-backed answer? Consensus App is a search engine focused on academic papers.

• What it does: Uses AI to find and summarize findings directly from scientific research, providing evidence-based answers to your questions.
• How it helps: Quickly gets you to the core findings of studies without needing to read entire complex papers. Great for understanding what the research says on a specific topic.
• Legality: Completely Legal. It’s a search engine that accesses publicly available research or licensed databases, similar to Google Scholar but with an AI-driven focus on answers.
• Usefulness: Ideal for students working on research papers, writers fact-checking information, or anyone curious about scientific consensus on a topic.

4. Temp-mail: Disposable Email Addresses for Privacy(Useful Online Tools)

Signing up for a one-time download, a forum you’ll rarely visit, or a free trial but don’t want to give out your main email and get spammed? Temp-mail provides a temporary, disposable email address.

• What it does: Gives you a temporary email address that lasts for a limited time (usually hours or days) and receives emails directly on the Temp-mail website.
• How it helps: Protects your primary inbox from spam and unwanted marketing emails after signing up for services you don’t plan to use long-term. Enhances online privacy for non-sensitive registrations.
• Legality: Generally Legal. The service itself is a tool for managing email privacy. Using a temporary email for illegal activities like fraud is, of course, illegal, but that’s misuse of the tool, not the tool being illegal.
• Usefulness: Great for quick registrations, accessing content that requires an email signup, or testing services without using your main contact information. Crucially, do not use temporary email for important accounts like banking or primary social media, as you will lose access.

5. Excel Formula Bot: Your Spreadsheet Assistant(Useful Online Tools)

Excel formulas can be daunting! If you know what you want to do but not how to write the formula, the Excel Formula Bot can be a lifesaver.

• What it does: You describe in plain English what you want your Excel (or Google Sheets) formula to do (e.g., “sum the numbers in column B where column A says ‘Complete'”) and it generates the correct formula for you.
• How it helps: Saves you time and frustration trying to remember or figure out complex spreadsheet functions. Makes advanced spreadsheet tasks more accessible to beginners.
• Legality: Completely Legal. It’s a productivity tool that helps you use software more effectively.
• Usefulness: Essential for students working with data, office workers using spreadsheets, data analysts, or anyone who needs help automating calculations in Excel or Google Sheets.

6. PDF Drive: A Note on Copyright and Free Books(Useful Online Tools)

PDF Drive claims to offer millions of PDF books and documents for free download. This sounds amazing, but it’s the site on this list with the most significant legal concerns.

• What it does (Claims): Provides a searchable database of PDF files, including many commercially published books.
• How it helps (Allegedly): Offers free access to content that would normally need to be purchased.
• Legality: Highly Questionable / Often Illegal. While some content on PDF Drive might be legally free (like public domain books or openly licensed documents), a vast amount of its library consists of copyrighted books distributed without permission from authors or publishers. Sharing copyrighted material without permission is copyright infringement, which is illegal. Websites that facilitate this are operating in a legal grey area or outright illegally, and downloading copyrighted material from such sites without permission is also illegal in most jurisdictions.
• Usefulness: While it offers access to content, the significant legal and ethical issues surrounding copyright infringement make its use for copyrighted material not recommended. There are many legitimate ways to access books for free, such as through local libraries, Project Gutenberg (for public domain books), or free sections of ebook stores.

7. QuillBot: Paraphrasing and Rewriting Aid(Useful Online Tools)

Need to rephrase a sentence or paragraph, perhaps for clarity or to avoid accidental plagiarism? QuillBot is an AI-powered tool designed to help.

• What it does: It takes text you input and rewrites it in different ways, offering various modes like Standard, Fluency, Creative, etc., to change the tone and structure. It can also summarize text.
• How it helps: Assists in finding different ways to express ideas, improves sentence variety, helps in summarizing long texts, and can be a tool for understanding how to rephrase information (useful for learning how to paraphrase correctly).
• Legality: Generally Legal (as a tool). Using the tool itself is not illegal. The issue arises with how the user utilizes the output. Using QuillBot to copy someone else’s work, slightly alter it, and present it as your own without attribution is plagiarism, which is an ethical and academic violation, and can have legal consequences if it infringes copyright. Use it to assist your writing and understanding, not to cheat or steal others’ work.
• Usefulness: Helpful for students needing to paraphrase for essays, writers looking for different wording, or anyone trying to simplify or rephrase complex information.

8. Font Squirrel: Discover Free Fonts(Useful Online Tools)

Finding the perfect font for a design project, a presentation, or even a document can be challenging, especially finding ones that are free and legal to use. Font Squirrel is a curated resource for free fonts.

• What it does: It collects and offers links to high-quality fonts that are licensed for free use, often including commercial projects. It also has a handy “Font Identifier” tool where you can upload an image of text and it tries to identify the font.
• How it helps: Provides easy access to a vast library of legitimate free fonts, saving you money and the hassle of navigating complex font licenses. The identifier tool is great when you see a font you like but don’t know its name.
• Legality: Completely Legal. Font Squirrel curates fonts that are intentionally offered for free use by their creators under specific licenses. Using fonts obtained from Font Squirrel according to their licenses is legal.
• Usefulness: A must-visit for graphic designers, web designers, marketers, students working on visual projects, or anyone who enjoys typography and needs free font resources.

9. Resume Genius: Build Your Perfect Resume(Useful Online Tools)

Creating a professional resume that stands out is crucial for job hunting. Resume Genius is an online builder that simplifies this process.

• What it does: Provides templates, step-by-step guidance, examples, and tips to help you build a well-formatted and compelling resume quickly.
• How it helps: Takes the guesswork out of resume formatting and content. Guides you on what to include in each section and helps you tailor your resume to specific jobs.
• Legality: Completely Legal. It’s a standard online service providing tools and resources for career development.
• Usefulness: Essential for job seekers at any stage of their career, from entry-level to experienced professionals, helping them create polished application materials.

Addressing the “Illegal” Myth: Why the Label is Wrong for Most (Useful Online Tools)

So, why do some lists call these incredibly useful tools “illegal”? As we’ve seen, for most of these sites – Convertio, Hemingway App, Consensus App, Temp-mail (as a tool), Excel Formula Bot, QuillBot (as a tool), Font Squirrel, and Resume Genius – the label is inaccurate and misleading.

Here are some likely reasons for the sensationalist labeling:

1. Clickbait: The word “illegal” is provocative and grabs attention in crowded online spaces.
2. Misunderstanding User Misuse: Some tools (like Temp-mail or QuillBot) could be misused for illegal or unethical purposes (fraud, plagiarism), but the tool itself isn’t illegal, just the way someone uses it. This is like saying pens are illegal because they could be used to forge a signature.
3. Confusion with Truly Illegal Activities: There are websites facilitating illegal activities (like distributing copyrighted material). The confusion likely stems from lumping legitimate tools with genuinely illegal ones, especially prominent in the case of PDF Drive.
4. Ignorance of Terms of Service vs. Law: Some actions might violate a website’s terms of service, but that doesn’t automatically make them illegal.

It’s crucial to understand that providing a tool that can be misused is different from the tool itself being illegal. For the vast majority of the sites discussed (excluding the cautioned PDF Drive), they are legitimate businesses offering valuable, legal services.

Using Online Tools Responsibly(Useful Online Tools)

While most of these tools are legal and helpful, responsible use is key:

• Respect Copyright: Always ensure you have the right to convert, share, or use the content you are processing or accessing. Do not use tools to obtain or distribute copyrighted material illegally (this is the main issue with sites like PDF Drive).
• Understand Terms of Service: Be aware of how the service uses your data and for how long. For temporary email services, know their lifespan.
• Protect Sensitive Information: Be cautious about uploading highly confidential or sensitive documents to any third-party online service, even if they have good security policies.
• Attribute Properly: When using paraphrasing tools like QuillBot for academic or professional writing, ensure you still cite your sources correctly to avoid plagiarism.
• Be Aware of Free Limits: Free versions of tools often have limitations. Understand these before relying on them for critical tasks.

Conclusion: Empowering Your Digital Life(Useful Online Tools)

These 9 websites, when used responsibly, are powerful assets for navigating the digital world more efficiently. They can save you time, solve technical headaches, improve your communication, and provide access to valuable resources.

Forget the misleading “illegal” tag. Convertio simplifies file formats, Hemingway App makes you a better writer, Consensus App connects you to research, Temp-mail protects your inbox, Excel Formula Bot helps with data, Font Squirrel offers creative freedom, and Resume Genius assists your career goals. While caution is necessary with platforms like PDF Drive due to copyright concerns, the others are legitimate tools waiting to empower you.

Embrace these useful online tools, understand how they work, and use them ethically to simplify your digital tasks and boost your productivity today!