ERIC
SPELLMANN
Must-Have System Utilities
- In
his latest straightforward guide to PC know-how, ERIC SPELLMANN
looks at the most useful programs available for keeping your
computer healthy
Every
day, software writers send me evaluation editions of their latest
programs. Of course, their hope is that I will give them a
favorable review in my column. Many times, I will put their
software through its paces, but not mention the results in my columns.
The reason is simple: I don’t want to waste your time and mine by
telling you about bad software. The only products you see mentioned here
are the ones that rise above the pack both in functionality and value. Such
is the case today.
The following four utilities are programs I consider critical. The first three
are completely FREE and the last is well worth the money.
AVG Anti-Virus System
Whenever I encounter a computer WITHOUT anti-virus software, I cringe. After
all, if you have e-mail, chances are, you receive a virus-loaded message at
least once a week. Without proper protection, your system might as well
have a large sign posted above it: "Infect me. Format my hard drive. Make
me write bad cheques."
The reason some people choose not to install this critical software is simple: cost. After
all, Norton and McAfee’s products are not cheap. Add to that a yearly
subscription fee for maintenance and you’ve got a permanent line-item
for your budget.
The folks at Grisoft realize everyone is not made of money, so they came up
with the AVG Anti-virus system. If you are an individual or work for a
non-commercial organization, you may download their software for free. What
makes this deal really great is the FREE lifetime updates.
As with Norton Antivirus, the AVG product will automatically update its virus
list on a regular basis, making sure your system is ready to fend off the most
current digital scourges. Download your free copy at http://free.grisoft.com.
SpyBot and Ad-Aware
While the Germans may have received some bad press politically of late, don’t
write them off completely. Their software writers are some of the best in the
world. As an example, check out Spybot or Ad-Aware.
These programs are easily considered the leaders in spyware removal.
"What is spyware?" you ask. Whenever you visit some websites,
small files ("cookies" in many cases) are placed on your system. These
cookies can then be accessed by that site in the future to note when you return. Some
spyware consists of actual program code. By installing certain software,
many times you’ll also, unintentionally, install a little hitchhiker spyware
program.
Both Spybot and Ad-Aware will scan your entire system, looking for these nasty
creatures and then list them for easily deletion. Usually, when I install
one of these programs on a computer for the first time, they find "hundreds" of
spyware apps. Try it. I think you will be surprised at the number of "hidden" programs
running on your system. By clearing them out, you will also see a marked
performance boost.
Diskeeper Home Edition
A while back, I wrote a review on Executive Software’s Diskeeper. Well,
they’ve come out with a new version entitled Diskeeper
Home Edition. You’ll remember, Diskeeper is a "defrag" replacement.
And in case you don’t remember the logic behind "defragging",
let me use the company’s own words:
"Fragmentation occurs when you save files to your hard drive. There
isn’t enough room on the hard disk to store the file in one piece, so the
file gets broken up into many pieces and stored in various places on your hard
disk. Your system performance slows because every time you try to pull up
that file, your hard disk has to search for all the pieces of that file from
all the different places it’s now located. Fragmentation affects all
computers, and it doesn’t just go away by itself. You have to get
rid of it. Diskeeper is the most recommended automatic disk defragmenter
available."
You can download it for $19.95 (a little over £10). Based on the
system speed enhancements I’ve seen, it’s well worth the money.
I’ll see you in Cyberspace!
http://www.EricSpellmann.com
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