Antivirus Antispam software review

The HEADPLAY Personal Cinema System delivers the next frontier in portable entertainment. Buy Now To Join the Revolution!

Need another A/C Adaptor for your HEADPLAY Personal Cinema System? Buy Now!

Take your HEADPLAY Personal Cinema System to the four corners of the world with the Headplay Battery. Click Here

HEADPLAY Ear Buds: high-performance, noise-reducing, in-ear sound system. Buy Now!

For Game consoles, DVD players, and set-top box connection - HEADPLAY S-Video / Composite AV RCA Adaptor.

The HEADPLAY Internationl Travel Kit makes it easy to take your Personal Cinema System with you to far-away lands. Buy Now!

Find all of the accessories you need for the HEADPLAY Personal Cinema System at headplay.com.

Buy the HEADPLAY Personal Cinema System and a battery together and receive $29 off of your order. Buy Now!

Receive a FREE battery with the purchase of HEADPLAY’s Personal Cinema System. Buy Now!

Find HEADPLAY’s Personal Cinema System and accessories at headplay.com.

Headplay is probably every couch potato’s dream. Imagine a TV. Now imagine being able to take it anywhere and everywhere you go (except perhaps in the shower), and being able to watch movies or play games on it anytime you want. That’s the concept for the new “Personal Cinema System” device, Headplay.

Headplay is a head-mounted device; a TV you wear on your head. You can connect it to your gaming consoles, your DVD Player, your iPod, your PC, and maybe your Betamax player if it hasn’t choked on dust yet. If it has a video out function, Headplay can most probably display it. You can also plug in a memory stick and Headplay can run the media files - movies, videos, and images - with its own built-in player.

THE HARDWARE

The whole unit is comprised of two main bodies: the Liberator and the Visor. The Liberator is a small black box where every wire is connected to. The Visor is made up of two parts: the hat itself and the optical piece which looks like it was stolen from Scott Summers. There’s also the Navigator - it’s the remote control - that connects the Visor to the Liberator.

The Liberator

The makers had simplicity in mind when they designed it, making sure all we had to worry about was to sit back and enjoy. It operates on a plug-and-play system and there’s only one button on the Liberator; the power button. Talk about simple: if a socket fits, then that’s most likely where it should be.

The only real times you’ll be prevented from moving around while you have the gear on is if it’s plugged into a wall to charge the batteries or if it’s plugged into another bulkier device like a console or a PC. However, you can still walk around about a meter in radius from the Liberator. Or you could just move the fridge beside the couch and be done with it. If you can do the same for the toilet… well, godspeed.

If you’re connected to something portable though - like a USB memory stick, or a portable DVD player - it’s not hard to imagine bringing it along on a road trip… It’s probably best not to drive with it on though. The batteries can last about six hours when it’s fully charged so that’s enough for about three or four movies. Not bad if you’re taking a particularly long plane trip and you don’t like the in-flight movie.

The Navigator

You know how some remotes look simple because they only have a few buttons, but when you use them they’re actually super complicated? That’s not the case with the remote. Navigation is simple with only seven buttons that’s perfectly button-mashable should all be lost. The worst you can do is change the brightness.

The menu itself is instinctive - much like iPod menus - and can easily adjust video and audio settings with a few clicks. It isn’t intrusive either: the menu windows are translucent so you don’t miss anything if you’re watching something.

The Visor

The Visor unit looks and feels like a hat - but is not a hat, so don’t wear it outside lest you walk into a pole - and is comfortable enough to wear for hours. It’s lightweight and won’t slip off easily. It’s held in place by some heavy duty velcro that’s easily adjustable so go and headbang all you want.

The visor can adjust to anything from the size of your head to the grade of your eye. It has a separate lens for each eye, and both can be adjusted for focus and alignment. The optical piece on the hat can also be adjusted to go up or down so you don’t have to constantly move the hat piece.

One disadvantage of giving a large room for adjustability is that it needs a lot of adjustments, and therefore more room for error. If the alignment or the focus isn’t adjusted well, you might notice some blind spots here and there.

As adjustable as it is though, the lenses have their limits. While the focus can be configured for those with weaker eyes, it can only go so far. This is easily remedied by wearing contact lenses or glasses.

PERSONAL CINEMA SYSTEM

Once the adjustments are done it’s pretty much all sitting back. Once you’re behind the lenses of Headplay, it’s pretty easy to just relax and go dead to the world around you. It’s nothing but you and the screen, with the stereo sounds blocking off everything else. It’s like your own movie screen inside your living room.

The video output is pretty sweet: first instinct says the display would be too small to appreciate but it’s actually just right. The display is about the same size as a large TV set would look when viewed from a safe distance - unless you watch TV with your nose to the screen - or the big screen when viewed at eye level from a row in the middle of the theater.

At first try there was some motion sickness involved but that’s just the brain adjusting to having a TV following you instead of the other way around. Once you get used to this fact, it’s all hunky dory. In fact, the best position seems to be lying down or laying back. Preferably on a very comfortable bean bag.

You can hook up a lot of devices onto Headplay, and it can switch between them quite easily even while all of them are turned on. Plug in a console, a PC, and a USB memory card and with a few clicks you can switch between playing Madden while waiting for a group in World of Warcraft, or watch some videos on your USB card while waiting for your downloads to finish.

Headplay ability to run media files in USB memory sticks and compact flash cards is truly what makes the Headplay device portable. The seven-button remote shines in the USB function as well. The instinctive values of the simple layout requires little thought to operate.

The menu for watching videos are laid out in a logical hierarchy, and while the music player requires a bit more clicking than a mouse-user is accustomed to, it’s still fool-proof. The image viewer can also play slideshows with its own built-in player with Powerpoint-like transitions: image functions to flip, rotate, and zoom are even available.

HEADPLAY FOR VIDEOS AND MOVIES

Being able to watch movies on Headplay is one of its strongest features, since it was really designed to be a portable movie screen. Headplay can run the most common media formats, including mp3, mpeg, avi, and XviD. You can watch movies, listen to music, and browse through your jpg pictures anywhere you go.

Headplay with iPods

One of the general complaints about iPod Videos is that the screen’s so small that some find it almost impossible to watch anything on it, but Headplay offers a solution by giving iPod videos get the blow up treatment on its screen. We’ve tried it: you’ll just need a TV out cable for your iPod and connect it to the Headplay unit.

There’s a hitch with the quality of the video though, as some details are lost. However, this can be easily remedied by changing your videos’ compression rates. This shouldn’t worry you though, because whether you broadcast your iPod videos on TV or PC, resolutions are always an iffy thing to deal with when enlarged.

Headplay with PCs and Macs

We got the treat to watch TMNT on our laptop too. We fed a DVD of the CG-animated movie into the computer and let it play: all we needed was popcorn and we definitely would have been in our own virtual theaters.

As we stated earlier, once you’re watching a movie - a graphically pleasing movie with blockbuster graphics to boot - and you can easily be absorbed. No worries about folks behind you kicking your seat, no noisy children running up and down the aisles, and most especially, no cellphones ringing every five or so minutes from the crowd.

A minor note of caution though. For movie goers who always have a soft spot throbbing in their hearts, you might want to steer clear away from movies that could reduce you to tears: Schindler’s List, Bambi, the works. Getting teary eyed while using Headplay might prove to be an inconvenience.

HEADPLAY FOR GAMES

The visuals are pretty stunning as it doesn’t lose any detail from the source. Minute details are just as clear as the humongous ones and color doesn’t suffer.

Headplay with the next-gen consoles

In the Xbox 360’s demo for Beautiful Katamari for example, you get to appreciate the size of your Katamari and also be able to snicker at the plight of the struggling golfer stuck between the duck and the cow. And in XBLA’s Boom Boom Rocket, no color is lost and you can clearly see each individual flare streak off. But above all, nothing beats seeing Big Daddy make its first appearance in BioShock when nothing else can avert your eyes from the screen.

Shooters may actually be one of the best genres for Headplay. You get to experience and immerse yourself in the game more because all you see is the screen. You get to be more into your character, seeing behind their eyes. And with that it has to be said that we can’t wait to try this baby out on Halo 3. In the meantime, Headplay on the Wii’s Elebits and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is more than enough to fill the void while we wait.

Though the Nintendo Wii might have its fair share of games oriented more toward “family fun,” we’re not entirely sure if the same concept adapts well with the Headplay unit. Since only one Headplay set can be enjoyed by one person at a given time (for, err, obvious reasons), this is when single-player titles like Zelda: Twilight Princess and Resident Evil 4 shine.

Headplay works just as well with the Sony PlayStation 3. Each lock of Nariko’s hair is still in place in Heavenly Sword, and the chains of her gargantuan weapon are visible as she dances her death whirls. Meanwhile, you won’t have any problems aiming your crosshairs at Triad goons while running down the streets - and tables, and rails, and walls - of Hong Kong in Stranglehold.

Headplay with PC and Mac OS X platforms

Although Headplay works just as well with the PC and Mac, the resolution only goes up to 1024x768. If you insist on working with a larger resolution, the device will accommodate but the screen will crop out what can’t fit. This is not advisable while playing FPS games like Medal of Honor. It’s bad enough when you get fragged while the whole screen is visible but with that handicap, you’re just askin’ for a whoopin’.

Playing MMORPGS games like World of Warcraft using Headplay has one big pro: we must insist that you watch the cinematics. Throw in a surround-sound system and you have CG nirvana. There were some issues with reading during that game as some of us who’ve tried it found the text a little blurry, but a customized UI took care of that.

HEADPLAY

Despite some minor technical obstacles, Headplay achieves that which it was made for: a portable movie screen. As a gadget which allows you to watch movies in a different way than what you’re used to, Headplay is definitely a revolution in portable home entertainment.

Considering this is a quick impression, you might want to come back and read our more in-depth reviews on using the Headplay in the future. We’ll be getting a closer look at other MMORPGs - World of Warcraft included - and games on the next-gen consoles and the PSP. We can’t wait to try it out on Halo 3 when it comes out.

Headplay is currently on sale and is priced at US$ 499.99. It’s definitely a cool thing to own and might even be a viable option if you’re planning to buy a TV. If you also travel a lot but find yourself idle in transit, Headplay would fit well into your must-haves list.

The HEADPLAY Personal Cinema System delivers the next frontier in portable entertainment. Buy Now To Join the Revolution!

Need another A/C Adaptor for your HEADPLAY Personal Cinema System? Buy Now!

Take your HEADPLAY Personal Cinema System to the four corners of the world with the Headplay Battery. Click Here

HEADPLAY Ear Buds: high-performance, noise-reducing, in-ear sound system. Buy Now!

For Game consoles, DVD players, and set-top box connection - HEADPLAY S-Video / Composite AV RCA Adaptor.

The HEADPLAY Internationl Travel Kit makes it easy to take your Personal Cinema System with you to far-away lands. Buy Now!

Find all of the accessories you need for the HEADPLAY Personal Cinema System at headplay.com.

Buy the HEADPLAY Personal Cinema System and a battery together and receive $29 off of your order. Buy Now! Receive a FREE battery with the purchase of HEADPLAY’s Personal Cinema System. Buy Now!

Find HEADPLAY’s Personal Cinema System and accessories at headplay.com.

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Panda Internet Security 2009

Maximum protection against all kinds of Internet threats. Panda Internet Security 2009 is a security suite that lets you use the Internet with complete peace of mind. It protects you from viruses, spyware, rootkits, hackers, online fraud, identity theft and all other Internet threats. The anti-spam engine will keep your inbox free from junk mail while the Parental Control feature ensures your children can use the Web safely. And thanks to the new Collective Intelligence technology, the solution is now much faster than previous versions.

Anti-Malware Protection

Automatically detects and eliminates viruses, spyware, Trojans, rootkits, bots and other malware before they infect your computer.

• Scans files in real-time and on-demand.
• Scans emails before they reach your inbox, regardless of your email program.
• Scans Internet traffic regardless of your browser type.
• Scans Instant Messaging traffic in MSN Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo Messenger and AOL.
• Removes all traces of clutter left by spyware on your PC.

Advanced Proactive Protection

Technologies from Panda Security are widely recognized as the most effective against new and unknown malware.

• Genetic Heuristic Engine combines advanced algorithms to detect new variants of the most dangerous malware families.
• TruPrevent Technologies 2.0 silently analyze the behavior of programs, blocking those that try to damage your PC. This last line of defence blocks zero-day targeted attacks and terminates any malicious activity that has evaded traditional protection systems.

Personal Firewall

Protects you against Internet-borne worms and hacker attacks.

• Smart auto-configuration allows good programs to run while blocking malicious ones.
• Shields your PC from hackers on the Web.
• Wireless Monitor protects your wireless network from intruders.
• Intrusion prevention blocks known and unknown hacker attacks and vulnerability exploits.

Identity Theft Protection

Anti-Phishing Filter

Recognizes fraudulent email and protects you from scams while you shop, bank or pay bills online.

Anti-Banking Trojan Engine

Detects the most dangerous identity theft malware used by cyber-criminals to steal banking credentials. Specialized heuristics and generic detection techniques ensure maximum protection for online transactions.

Anti-Rootkit Technology

Detects and removes silently-installed rootkits used by malware or hackers to evade traditional antivirus products. The free Panda Anti-Rootkit, used by millions of people around the world, recently won the Editor’s Choice award from PC Magazine.

Safe Internet Browsing

Anti-Spam Filter

Keeps your inbox free from junk mail. With the new spam engine detection rates are now over 97%, ensuring uninterrupted service and delivering the emails you really need.

Parental Control

Lets your children browse the Internet safely by blocking access to violent, adult, or racist content, as well as other inappropriate websites. From the solution’s control panel –and regardless of the browser type- you can assign predefined filters (child, adolescent, employee…) to users or customize filter rules according to your specific needs, .

Web Filter

Lets you use the Internet safely without the risk of infections, vulnerability exploits, browser hijacking or phishing websites.By analyzing website content, links and Web reputation scores, Panda Security  provides protection against all types of Web-based malware and scams.

Personal Information Filter

Prevents theft from your PC of credit card numbers, social security numbers and any other personal information you define.

Backup & Restore

Safeguards your most important files against accidental loss or damage. It prevents loss of important documents either unintentionally, or through hard disk problems or other accidents. Backup and restoration from hard drive, CD, DVD, other external media or online are both extremely simple and easy.

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from cnet

Installation

On our test system we downloaded the 58MB final build of Norton Internet Security 2009  and installed the product within a minute. Instead of relying upon Microsoft’s installer, which Symantec has blamed for much of its past product bloat, the company started over, designing its own installer. There is the added advantage that as criminals target MSI files (say to prevent you from installing a security defense product on your already compromised machine) Symantec won’t be affected–for now. The new installer process works fast, borrowing streaming technology from its Norton Ghost 14.0 product. Symantec says installation takes less than a minute, and they were right. On both Windows Vista and Windows XP test machines, we were up and running in one minute and without a reboot.

Should you want to uninstall, Norton includes an uninstall option. In the past, Norton left a mess. Now, after rebooting our machine, what is left behind is licensing information.

Interface

Speaking of a mess, we didn’t like last year’s Halloween colors on the user interface. This year’s redesign is much cleaner and more sophisticated, one befitting a major security product, and the colors used on the Interface can be changed if you want. Also gone are the tabs reminding you that you can purchase other Norton products. Specific tools can be turned on and off easily without diving into the configuration settings. The configuration settings page itself is always one click below the main page. The interface also offers a pop-up dialogs to explain specific terms, although thorough explanations of the choice users have in changing the settings is still lacking.

In the lower left-hand panel are two bar graphs representing the overall Windows resources used and one for the specific resources used by the Norton product. Compared with the resources used reported within the Task Manager in Windows, we noticed a slight synch problem between what Windows reported and what Norton reported for the overall system. Symantec confirmed that while Norton Internet Security 2009  is looking at the Windows Task Manager, it is doing so at different intervals. We like the transparency, and think the presentation here is better than the line graphs used in some other security applications. Should you want line graphs, an icon will reveal how the system and Norton CPU usage has been since the system was last rebooted.

Features

Norton has, in the recent past, included some sophisticated technology from its enterprise products, which is good because it’s cutting-edge, but it’s also bad, because it doesn’t necessarily integrate with the product, nor is it necessary. In Norton Internet Security 2009 , they seem to have found the right balance.

Whitelisting, the buzzword of security products for 2009, is included within the new suite, and by marrying it with other technologies, Symantec makes it more suited for the user. Files on a whitelist are deemed trusted, and thus do not need to be scanned as often. Not all "safe files" make it onto the whitelist. For those, Norton uses a community process, called Insight, similar to that used by other security products such as Haute Secure. The thinking is that if thousands of other people are using this suspicious file, chances are it’s not a new piece of malware but a new application. On the other hand if only a few are using it, then maybe it’s worth it to take another look to see if it’s malware.

Norton enhances its home network monitor, giving you a system administrator’s perspective on the relative health and security of all the computers within your home.

And Norton Internet Security 2009  brings back the concept of the Recovery Disk once popular in the early 1990s, but declines to include a backup solution (you’ll have to buy another Symantec product for that).

Gone is the awful LiveUpdate component of past Norton products. With 2009 products, Symantec is providing antimalware definition signatures every few minutes or so. On the interface you’ll see a notice indicating how many minutes since the last update. We didn’t see definitions older than four minutes in our testing.

Missing still are the various security utilities provided in other products, namely McAfee Total Protection. We would like to see, for instance, a secure file eraser or the ability to trace potentially malicious IP addresses within Norton Internet Security 2009 . Nor is there any mobile-specific security solution provided within Norton Internet Security 2009.

Performance

In CNET Labs’ performance tests, Norton Internet Security 2009, as a suite, scored better than some standalone antivirus applications on our test Windows XP systems. In third-party, independent antivirus testing using live viruses, Norton products have scored in the upper ranks, although not always in the top position. On the CNET iTunes test, Norton Internet Security 2009  scored close to the test system result at 272 seconds, 3 seconds faster than the standalone version of Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009. On the CNET Microsoft Office test, Norton Internet Security 2009  finished at a respectable 1,443 seconds, placing near the middle. In a test scanning a single folder with compressed and media files, Norton Internet Security 2009  came in at 202 seconds, which was the upper end of middle. In terms of boot speed, once again Norton came in fast at 33 seconds.

To find out how we test antivirus (and now Internet Security suite) software, see CNET Labs’ How we test: Antivirus software page.

In terms of how well Norton Internet Security 2009 will protect your PC, we cite results for Norton AntiVirus 2009 from two leading independent antivirus testing organizations. In the latest test results from AV-Comparatives.org, for on-demand scans Norton Antivirus 2008 earned an Advanced + (highest) rating, catching 97 percent of all malicious software tested. However, for the Retrospective/Proactive test, Norton Antivirus 2008 earned an Advanced rating,with Norton falling behind the others, proactively blocking only 18 percent of the "new samples" in the test. From CheckVir.com, Norton Antivirus 2008 received its Standard award.

In antispyware testing on CNET, Norton Antivirus 2008 scored in the upper half of our top 10.

Support

Symantec has dropped its overinflated per-call pricing schemes of the past; all regular telephone technical support calls are finally free. That’s good. But its online manual and knowledgebase could be more robust, and an in program link to its community forums would be wise.

To take advantage of the free offerings, Symantec encourages users to use its One Click Solutions self-diagnosis tools first; that’s understandable since common problems can be self-remedied. In our tests, however, after answering no to "Does this resolve your problem?" we still didn’t get a telephone number, but an online form. Only after supplying a first name, last name, e-mail address, and phone (information you previously gave when setting up your Norton Account; why the two can’t be linked is unclear) are you offered a help ticket along with an option for a free online chat, free technical support phone, or an e-mail address. Once contacted, a technician may remotely control your PC while you watch them solve your given problem.

Our first encounter with Symantec’s technical support ended in frustration. Prominent on the technical support page and competing for prime eyeball space are Symantec’s premium technical support services: Spyware and Virus Removal (prices range), PC Checkup Service ($29.99), Green PC Service ($14.99), and PC TuneUp ($69.99). These premium services are also mentioned when you call for technical support. But in subsequent testing, we found neither the call nor the chat technician tried to steer us toward these premium solutions. Of course that depends on what specific problem you have and which technician you get.

The Norton in-program Help is better than in past years. Within the Help file, more terms are explained and less jargon is used this year, but it’s still not as thorough as other Help documents we’ve seen in competing products. And user options when changing configuration settings, long the bane of this reviewer, are once again not adequately presented to the end user: you still have to trust Symantec’s opinion on many things.

And the 38-page online manual, although indexed, is not very comprehensive, and leans heavily toward installation and the creation of the Recovery Disk. Only by accessing the Symantec Web site do you see the free community forums. That’s a mistake. Despite the company response that the Norton community forum is still in beta, these open communities provide more technical support than the canned responses offered through Symantec’s One Click Solutions process.

Conclusion

Norton Internet Security 2009  hits all the right security notes and its award-winning protection technologies should start to win back even jaded anti-Symantec folks. We love its sleek build, performance speed, and array of quality security tools. Our only fault remains with the products lackluster online consumer technical support.

All Symantec Products:

Norton 360

Norton AntiBot

pcAnywhere 12.1

Norton Ghost 12.0

Norton Ghost 14.0

Norton Confidential

Norton AntiVirus 2009

Norton AntiVirus 2008

Norton 360 Version 2.0

Norton Smartphone Security

Norton AntiVirus 11 for Mac

Norton Internet Security 2009

Norton SystemWorks Basic 12.0

Symantec pcAnywhere 12.1 Host

Norton SystemWorks Standard 12.0

Norton Confidential for Macintosh

Norton SystemWorks Premier v 12.0

Norton Personal Firewall 3.0 for Macintosh

Norton Internet Security 3.0 for Macintosh

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IObit Advanced WindowsCare Professional

“Advanced WindowsCare Professional is your complete solution to true computer maintenance and protection.” - Tucows, 5 Cows Award and Shareware Spotlight, Dec 2006  “This easy-to-use and informative application cleans, configures, and optimizes your PC. “ - CNET, Editor’s Recommendation, May 2007 The World’s Top System Utility for Superior PC Health Advanced WindowsCare Professional Edition provides an always-on, automated, all-in-one PC Healthcare Service with anti-spyware, privacy protection, performance tune-ups, and system cleaning capabilities. Features of this powerful, award-winning program include: An “Install It and Forget It” feature that works automatically and quietly in the background on your computer. The ability to constantly keep your computer safe, error-free and running at its top speed and optimum performance. Keeping your PC error-free and running more smoothly than ever. Advanced WindowsCare Professional Edition  is the award -winning, flagship product recommended most often by IT experts and editors worldwide. Designed for Windows Vista, XP, and 2000. Key Benefits Just install it and forget it. This powerful utility works continuously, automatically and quietly in the background on your PC. It allows you to have fun and be more productive.   Defends Your PC Scans and removes spyware and adware using up-to-date definition files. Prevents spyware, hackers and hijackers from installing malicious items on your computer. Erases and updates your PC’s activity history.   Cleans Your Windows Boosts your system’s performance by deep scanning and cleaning out missing files, destroying unwanted files, deleting obsolete files, removing junk files, and eliminating corrupt registry entries.   Keeps Your PC Running at Peak Performance Fully optimizes Windows for ultimate system performance and top Internet speed by unleashing the built-in power of your system, based on how you use your PC and your network configuration. Turns your PC into a business PC, a productive workstation, an entertainment center, a game machine, or a scientific computing PC.   Fixes Multiple System Errors Keeps your PC stable and running at peak efficiency. Continuously repairs system configurations by eliminating system bottlenecks and preventing crashes.   FREE, Award-winning Customer Support for All Users 100% free 24x7 Technical Support and community support.   100% Money-Back Guarantee When you purchase Advanced WindowsCare Professional Edition your satisfaction is guaranteed. You can request your money back if our software doesn’t do all that we say it will.

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Lavasoft AdAware 2008 Pro

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Lavasoft AdAware 2008 Pro has been around for quite some time and due to the appeal of its free protection and scanning tools was the weapon of choice for many in the fight against malware. Over the years many other suites have begun to offer similar built-in protection, but Lavasoft has kept up to speed by refining its software to offer more efficient and comprehensive security along with a range of optional components.

The "Pro" version on test adds anti-virus protection and real-time detection to the more straightforward scans of the free version and the Ad-Watch, Process-Watch and network drive scanning tools to the entry-level protection of the "Plus" alternative.

Despite rivals becoming more efficient at developing straight-forward support for a wide range of threats under a single interface, the Ad-Aware software persists with separating its protection into a scanning application that includes the ability to monitor processes and host files and the "Ad-Watch" utility that safeguards the registry, network traffic, cookies and processes.

These combined security tools do offer an impressive level of protection but they don’t feel particularly well integrated and are often sluggish to load. While there’s a decent degree of control over how they operate its also not immediately obvious what each of the "on/off" settings actually do, and feels like an attempt to simplify complex operations that has really resulted in the opposite effect.

Regardless you’ll find the bulk of control through the main interface, which allows you to choose from a Smart Scan to check critical areas, Full Scan or Custom Scan; the latter lets you choose specific hard drives and specific scans to run. There’s a scheduler here for automating scans and generally we were very impressed by how effective the software is at detecting threats, with the diagnosis and removal process being very straight-forward.

However it does take a little longer than we’d like to check a system: even the Smart Scan takes quite a while to complete and there’s often very little information available as to while a file has been flagged as potentially malicious.

Lavasoft AdAware 2008 Pro is extremely effective at detecting and eliminating threats through scans, but less so at preventing new threats from infecting your machine through the Ad-Watch component. Some users, particularly beginners, may find it a little awkward to juggle the various components and it would have been nice to see them all integrated better into a single interface, perhaps with a wizard approach to simplify the various configurations available.

While improvements have been made to the latest version to add extra security and improve the efficiency of the software, it’s hard not to think that Lavasoft is still a few steps behind the competition, even despite its comprehensive support.

from here

LAVASOFT Coupons and discounts

Save 10% on Lavasoft Ad-Aware Pro

Save 10% on Lavasoft Ad-Aware Pro. Offer Expires 12/31/2008

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Save 10% on Lavasoft Registry Tuner 1 yr license

Save 10% on Registry Tuner 1 yr license Offer Expires 12/31/2008

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Save 10% on Lavasoft Privacy Toolbox

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Save 10% on Lavasoft File Shredder

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Save 10% on Lavasoft Digital Lock

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Other Lavasoft products:

Lavasoft Ad Aware Plus 2008

Lavasoft Personal Firewall

LavasoftAd Aware Pro 2008

Lavasoft Privacy Toolbox

Lavasoft Registry Tuner

Lavasoft File Shredder

Lavasoft Digital Lock

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Lavasoft Digital Lock

Lavasoft is a company well known for their flagship product Ad-Aware, one of the early software programs that dealt with spyware and adware threats. In 2007 they switched focus from solely developing the anti malware product, into more mainstream tools such as a personal firewall, file shredder and an encryption utility.

The fine folks from the company recently shipped us a couple of registration keys for their products, so here is a review of the crypto part of their portfolio - Lavasoft Digital Lock.

The application installs without any hassle and after successful activation, it is ready to be used. The graphical user interface is easy to follow, with all the software options located in the left menu. From the user perspective, Lavasoft Digital Lock is a rather simple tool - it can be used for encrypting and decrypting of your sensitive data.

Before you start working with this utility, you should browse a bit through the Settings screen which doesn’t offer much customization, but you can chose one of the four encryption algorithms. BlowFish is there by default, but with a click of mouse you can switch to 256 bit AES-standard Rijndael, 256 bit Twofish and 480bit SafeIT.

To start encrypting your files you can just add the selected files via the GUI, or you can drag-and-drop the files onto Lavasoft Digital Lock icon on your Desktop or in the quick launch toolbar. There you just need to supply the password (minimum 8 characters recommended) and the files will get encrypted.

I came across a potentially serious issue with the file integrity check validation, that occurred in the following scenario: I was encrypting a quite large file from my external DVD-ROM. As I am the guy that likes to break stuff, while the encryption process was going on I switched off my DVD-ROM device as I wanted to see what kind of error I will be getting. I was unpleasantly surprised that the application didn’t have a problem with this - it just acted as the whole file was processed and gave me a congratulation note. The newly created encryption file was created, but of course while I decrypted it, the file was corrupted.

This thing happens when you switch off any removable media the source files are located on, but the scenario cannot happen in case you are using internal CD/DVD drives, or for instance you try to delete the source file from your computer during the encryption process. When I am talking about bugs, I came across another issue - When the encryption process is actively running, the user has the option to abort it. The abort key didn’t work for me as the application would just look like it is hanging, but the encryption process would go on like nothing happened.

The application creates and stores the log files relating to each of the crypto process you deploy with it. The logs are saved in HTML format and can be accessed through the application interface, as well as by browsing into the appropriate folder inside the Program Files. Also, after any successful operation, you have an option to shred the current log file.

One of the things I liked about Lavasoft Digital Lock is that it offered ways of decrypting for users that are not registered (paying) users of the software. There are two different ways files can be decrypted. The first one is that Lavasoft offers a free decryption tool that you can share with your fellow peers, so they can decrypt the files you send them. The application has the same look as the decryption screen inside the Lavasoft Digital Lock.

The other way is to create self-extracting encrypted files. By using this option the software will encrypt your source file(s) and afterwards create .exe program that can be started on any Windows machine and be used for automatically decrypting its contents. A nice touch in this procedure is a configuration option which changes file extensions (file.xls.exe -> file_xls.exe) so your data doesn’t end up in some antivirus filter.

I just need to mention one nifty detail - while encrypting a large quantities of textual (and other) data, you will be interested to know that the software also sports an auto-compression utility which does wonders to the file size.
Overall, Lavasoft Digital Lock is a useful utility for securing your private data.

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Lavasoft Privacy Toolbox

With prying eyes able to access all kinds of private data through your computer, you need strong solutions to ensure your security.

Lavasoft’s Privacy Toolbox will help you take full control of your digital information, with both the File Shredder and the Digital Lock in one application. Get the most for your money with savings of over 30 percent compared to buying both products separately!

Dual functionality at a maximum value

• Lavasoft’s Digital Lock and File Shredder in one easy-to-use application

• Encrypt files to securely store them

• Shred documents to remove them permanently

• Free online customer support, 24-hours a day, 7 days a week

Digital Lock Key Features

• Strong encryption technology, including AES 256 Bits

• Encrypts all file formats for storage or sending

• Shreds original file after encryption

• Convenient file selection

• Multiple encryptions available for added security

• Free encryption reader for recipients

File Shredder Key Features

• Powerful shredder permanently removes unwanted files

• Convenient "Shredding Bin" icon on your desktop

• Detect and remove "previous versions" automatically saved and hidden by Windows Vista

• Clean up your computing history, including Internet activity and Instant Messenger chat history

• Qualitative reporting option

• Military and government approved security standards

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After installation, the Avast Professional Edition asks if you want to schedule an antivirus scan of  local hard drives at system start. You’ll notice two icons in your  tray after installing Avast Professional Edition: one to configure the functions and another to activate the virus recovery database.

Well-designed, Avast Professional scans P2P programs (such as Kazaa, Limewire, and Morpheus), executables, inbound and outbound e-mails . Instant messages  are inspected for harmful viruses as well. Avast Professional Edition was able to block  common file operations such as renaming and deleting, URLs.

Avast Professional Edition did slow down our system while using other programs and surfing  . Many of its configurations require intermediate know-how or better. Fortunately, Avast Professional Edition has a generous 60-day trial.Avast Professional safeguards your system at optimum levels.

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Symantec - Balancing Data Protection and System Recovery

Symantec Backup Exec™ System Recovery  Windows Small Business Server Edition is the gold standard in complete Windows® system recovery with the ability to restore systems in minutes, not hours or days, even to dissimilar hardware or virtual environments. Now includes flexible offsite protection, enhanced recovery capabilities, and integration with Symantec security and systems management solutions. Click Here

No matter how up-to-date your desktops and servers are, data loss and system crashes are inevitable. And no matter what the cause, when vital business information isn’t available, every minute down costs you money. That’s why you need to have a data protection and system recovery strategy that gets you back up and running within minutes, not hours or days.

This article looks at what small and midsize businesses need to do to rapidly and confidently back up and recover vital data and systems.

Every business has unique information protection and disaster recovery challenges. But organizations of all sizes face the same issues when it comes to keeping their data protected and available.

For one thing, consider the growth of corporate data. By numerous accounts, the amount of data that needs to be protected is growing at a rate of 50% per year. For small and midsize businesses, the challenge of backing up this data and recovering it quickly is proving more onerous than ever.

At the same time, Microsoft Exchange has become a mission-critical application for many companies. Today, various reports estimate that the majority of a typical company’s intellectual property is contained in email. It’s not surprising, then, that keeping this application highly available and protecting the associated data is not an option, but a critical necessity.

The objective of traditional backups is to minimize the downtime of the messaging environment while providing the fastest possible data recovery in the event of a system crash, database corruption, loss of a mailbox, or other data loss. This is primarily accomplished through full or incremental online backups of the Exchange databases. But as data volumes grow, so does the backup window, which leaves a company at risk of data loss. Also, if organizations need to restore individual email messages or mailboxes, a separate Exchange mailbox backup is required to restore an individual item without recovering the entire Exchange database, which is twice the backup time and twice the storage space.

Symantec Backup Exec for Windows Small Business Server eliminates the need to run daily full or incremental Exchange backups with continuous data protection, which backs up data continuously as it changes, eliminating the backup window. It also eliminates the need to run slow Exchange mailbox backups while still allowing the recovery of individual email messages, folders, and mailboxes through Granular Recovery Technology (GRT). As a result, not only can Exchange be continuously backed up while online, but individual messages and mailboxes can be recovered in seconds.

When organizations think of backup and recovery, it’s usually about protecting information residing on a server. It’s important to remember, however, that both data and system information are at stake. Too often, so much importance is put on protecting the data that the system is overlooked. But if the system isn’t operable, the chances of accessing the data are slim. When a server operating system fails, it can take hours (days, in some instances) to rebuild and restore the server.

There’s also the matter of having to replace the server hardware. Most small and midsize organizations can’t afford the luxury of maintaining extra server hardware in case they need to replace an existing system. This introduces the issue of restoring a system to different hardware, while trying to preserve the integrity of the system state and the availability of the data.

Today, all systems – from servers to desktops to laptops – must be quickly recoverable, whether it’s to the exact same hardware or to completely dissimilar hardware.

Symantec Backup Exec System Recovery Windows Small Business Server Edition allows businesses to recover from system loss or disasters in minutes—even to dissimilar hardware platforms, virtual environments, or in remote, unattended locations. Backup Exec System Recovery – a complementary, standalone solution to Backup Exec for Windows Small Business Server – captures a recovery point of the entire live Windows system without impacting productivity. When systems fail, you can quickly restore them without the need for lengthy manual processes.

Symantec Backup Exec and Symantec Backup Exec System Recovery are now integrated with Symantec’s recently updated ThreatCon global security alerting system. The Symantec ThreatCon is an interactive tool that alerts users to the current state of global Internet security. (The current ThreatCon level is displayed on www.symantec.com.) A free service, it provides users with information that can help protect them against a wide range of vulnerabilities and threats.

The integration of ThreatCon alerts with Backup Exec and Backup Exec System Recovery means that businesses can automatically run a backup when the ThreatCon level reaches or exceeds a specified level. The ability to proactively back up data and systems based on the threat landscape helps ensure businesses can easily restore their environment to the point-in-time before the virus or threat infected their network, thus reducing the overall risk of downtime.

All businesses need their critical data and systems to be protected and available. But given the exponential growth of corporate data, as well as the rapidly escalating cost of system downtime, the challenges facing small and midsize businesses are more acute than ever.

Today’s solutions must offer best-of-breed data protection and system recovery. Businesses can’t afford to waste valuable time and resources restoring a complete data volume or database when all a user needs is a single file or email message. Likewise, they need assurance that expensive system downtime is kept to an absolute minimum.

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Nuance PDF Converter Professional 5

the only complete PDF solution designed specifically for business users, delivers everything you need to create, convert, and edit PDF files. 

Nuance PDF Converter Professional 5 - Convert to essential new formats — Convert PDF to Microsoft Office 2007 formats including PowerPoint, XPS and more

Nuance PDF Converter Professional 5 - PDF creation options — Now you can create PDF Packages, split PDF files and more

Nuance PDF Converter Professional 5 - Works better than ever with email — Save space by converting entire folders of email to PDF, complete with attachments

Nuance PDF Converter Professional 5 - Faster and more accurate — Now 20% more accurate conversion, 52% faster start-up and up to 60% faster print speeds

Nuance PDF Converter Professional 5 - Collaborate on your files — New features like merge comments and document comparison make collaborating simple

• Create PDF files from any PC application
• Combine multiple files into a single PDF document
• Combine multiple documents within a single PDF file

• One-click conversion of PDF files into fully-formatted documents
• Convert to Microsoft® Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and XPS or Corel® WordPerfect
• Convert "static" or scanned PDF files into searchable, editable PDF files

• Touch up text and images directly within PDF files
• Add notes, annotations, stamps, and watermarks to your PDF files
• Secure your PDF files by applying digital signatures and security settings

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The Logo Creator v5.0 is packed with new features: Modifiable logo designs! Hundreds of possibilities! Sell the logos you create to your own clients! Each logo edition comes with a library of logo elements including orbs, swooshes, shapes and glass-like objects! Import and manipulate your own artwork, photos and clip art images! Easy to use tools! Undo & Redo up to 60 times Resize, rotate and fade opacity of ANY logo element! Reflections, 3D and mirrored effects Shadows, gradients, blurs and outlines Circular text for badges and emblems Import images and textures into text Transparent and colored backgrounds Group, ungroup and duplicate elements Edit text size, font, spacing and coloring! …and much more!

Create your own portfolio of logo designs! Create your logo, and choose “Save as Template”. This will save your logo as a modifiable logo template. This is a great way to create different renditions of your designs.

Grab background and textures from your favorite CD or website and insert them into your logo text for a great effect!

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IObit Advanced WindowsCare Professional

Top System Utility for Your Superior PC Health.

Advanced WindowsCare Professional provides an always-on and automated, all-in-one PC care service with anti-spyware, privacy protection, performance tune-ups, and system cleaning functions. Advanced WindowsCare Professional, award-winning flagship product of IObit, is recommended most often by IT experts and editors around the world.

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1. Advanced WindowsCare Professional fixes and optimizes 50% - 200% more than other system utilities.

2. Advanced WindowsCare Professional can give you PC super performance boost.

3. Advanced WindowsCare Professional uses the most advanced Window repairing and optimization technologies in the industry.

4. Recommended most often by experts and editors around the world as the top Windows tool.

5. Have over 50,000 satisfied customers - 98% would recommend Advanced WindowsCare Professional to a friend.

6. Super easy to use. Designed for both expert and novice users.

7. Receive premium support (365x 7/24) from our professional team.

8. 100% 30-day money back Guarantee.

IObit Advanced WindowsCare Professional

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