Cool Tools - for customer data etc

Test data is often a bottleneck on testing projects. Security and privacy issues can require complex massaging of existing information, Today, there are tools to make it easy to create it from scratch! I find two in particular quite useful.

I’ve been telling people about generatedata.com for several years. It is an amazing tool for generating data for customers or other items, including items chosen from lists and data ranges. It is free, customizable and can even be run off a USB (after it is customized for the computer and database etc).

I recently discovered another web site that focuses on creating real-looking names, phone numbers, addresses, unusable credit card details etc with a bulk download service as well. Try it out at fakenamegenerator.com . The fascinating feature is tha ability to create real looking names from various ethnic groups, resulting in a great variety of Anglo-saxon, Arabic, Asian, Scandanavian, Southern, Eastern and Western European names with personal data that seems real (and with fake real email as well!). These are both great tools and fun to play with also.