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Here are some of our favorite titles, all available free, they will send you to download.com, just follow the links.
This isn't the most feature-packed Windows-optimization utility, nor
the most effective, but we found it one of the easiest to control.
Advanced WindowsCare's simple interface offers two main options: Repair
and Repair And Optimize. The former fixes Registry entries and cleans
out your operating system. The latter does the same thing and tweaks
Windows for maximum performance.
If you run into trouble, the
Restoration option can return your system to its original
configuration. The Advanced menu provides fine control over repairs and
optimizations. On the downside, we noticed only one improvement on our
test PC: a reduced amount of used RAM. Also, the program's brief
descriptions of system problems may not satisfy seasoned users. And
although the latest version of the app includes a help file, we
wouldn't call it extensive.
Nevertheless, if your system is
running sluggishly and you're considering reinstalling Windows, it
wouldn't hurt to try this freeware package first.
This powerhouse FTP client takes some getting used to, but you'll be
glad you gave it a chance. Don't be alarmed by the cramped, multipane
Windows Explorer-like interface; you can customize the toolbars and
windowpanes however you like.
With the Local Browser window
visible, SmartFTP supports drag-and-drop transfers like those on basic
FTP clients. But its real power lies deeper within its option menus,
where you'll find CHMOD remote file-attribute modification, background
file transfers, multiple FTP connections, passive-mode transfers,
site-to-site transfers (FXP), and connections via proxy or SSL. Using
the Global Queue window, you even can schedule downloads or uploads to
more than one server.
SmartFTP may overwhelm beginners, but it's a natural for intermediates and up.
Although it lacks a few of the bells and whistles found in other
PC-cleaning applications, this free program offers more than enough
features to make it a worthy download. CCleaner's interface is
logically designed and makes it easy to wipe away your tracks from
Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Opera, from various Windows system
areas, and from some third-party applications.
CCleaner doesn't
support the large number of extraneous programs that some competitors
do, but it can erase traces from such popular programs as Spybot -
Search & Destroy and WinZip. CCleaner now offers secure file
erasing along with a Registry-cleaning utility that quickly scans for
invalid entries before removing them. CCleaner can even back up your
Registry before removal, in case it accidentally removes a crucial
component, and the download includes a rudimentary feature for
uninstalling any program on your machine.
Since this free
application handles the majority of PC-cleaning chores and offers a
nice extra, we strongly recommend CCleaner to all users, except those
who need robust tools to remove supersensitive data.
Comodo Firewall Pro gets a major revision from its publisher,
upgrading to Version 3 with some significant changes. Most importantly,
user complaints about resource hogging when Version 2 came out have
been all but eradicated with the new model.
The program still
provides a smorgasbord of information and options for advanced users,
but it's simple enough for beginners, and runs smoothly and silently in
the background. The most obvious new features include support for
Windows Vista at the expense of Windows 2000 support, although the
older v2.4 with Windows 2000 support is still available.
The
other big change is the new interface. This new UI isn't exactly an
improvement on the old one. However, the blue color scheme has been
toned down in favor of basic white, and there's more empty space
between the various options. Old terminology has been replaced with
more intuitive terms. The new main tabs are Summary, Firewall, Defense
+, and Miscellaneous. In each, though, there are links to relevant
security issues so users can drill down to learn more about how the
firewall is performing.
There's a new feature called the Host
Intrusion Prevention System that supposedly protects against unknown
threats. Obviously, it's hard to tell if it works unless an unknown
threat gets in, but it didn't seem to affect system performance
negatively. Mostly, Comodo rears its head most often soon after
installation when Security Alerts ask about new Internet connections as
the program "learns" your computer's behavior.
Don't be fooled by the name, either. Comodo is labeled Pro but it offers up its dragon-sized treasure of features for free.
One of the first applications built to find and remove adware and
spyware, Ad-Aware's excellent reputation is well-justified. The 2008
edition looks to be more of a course correction from some of the
missteps in the 2007 version.
The adware and malware
detection engine has undergone a significant overhaul, resulting in
faster scan times and improved rootkit detection. New users should
notice that the app performs faster than integrated antivirus and
antimalware programs: That's because only the paid version of Ad-Aware
comes with a new antivirus engine. Only users of Ad-Aware's paid
versions reap that benefit.
The updater is no longer
permanently on, and it instead runs in your system's background only if
you activate it--eliminating a big problem with last year's model. The
interface improvements include six skins, cleanly designed tabbed
navigation for each of the program's main functions, and easy-to-see
red Xs and green check marks to indicate a features status.
Besides the antivirus integration, other features disabled in the free
version include the real-time Ad-Watch guard, heuristics scanning, the
scheduler, and plug-ins. Although Ad-Aware detects and removes malware
with ease, we hesitate to recommend it as anything more than a
secondary detection engine considering that many free competitors offer
more features and similar, if not stronger, levels of effectiveness.
This antivirus program offers rock-solid protection. AVG Free
provides the bare necessities, including a real-time shield to prevent
infections, anti-virus and anti-malware wrapped up in one engine, and a
link scanner for Web surfing with care.
By default, the
application is set to search for new virus definitions daily, but you
always can use the scheduling tool to change this. Should a virus
create serious system problems, AVG creates a rescue disk to scan your
computer in MS-DOS mode. The program doesn't tax your system when
scanning or when running in the background and always proved effective
in our tests. The new interface is much easier to navigate than in
previous version, with tabbed navigation on the left assisting users in
drilling down to the tools they need.
Though the free version
of this program will suffice for average folks, those who demand more
control should certainly consider AVG Anti-Virus Professional.
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