Published on November 10th, 2008 by admin. Filed under Computer Repair, Free Software, Speed Up, Tech Support Software, Windows Repair Software, antivirus, security | 3 Comments
Avira AntiVir Personal is (in my humble opinion) the best free antivirus software available. It is what I use on my own PCs.
Description: Avira AntiVir Personal is a free antivirus program. It performs updates every day and catches a higher percentage of viruses than almost any other antivirus program. Just check the latest test results from AV-Test.org at Virus Bulletin.
Compatibility: Windows 2000, XP 32 and 64, Vista 32 and 64
Necessary Info: AntiVir Personal is a free antivirus program from German software manufacturer Avira. Avira consistently ranks in the top 2 or 3 in Antivirus comparison tests by AV-Test.org. Check the latest test results. Of course this is the free version of the commercial software and they want you to purchase the full version but the free version is good for at least 1 full year. I haven’t had it for a complete year yet so I am not certain what happens after the year is up but I am sure that they want you to purchase the full version.
PROs: Great antivirus software that scans every file that is opened or saved. It does not slow your PC down nearly as much as McAfee, Norton, AVG, or most of the others. It is quite lean in comparison and catches more viruses. This is a win-win situation! It updates every day to ensure that your virus definitions are as current as they can be. It can be configured to perform a virus scan every day.
CONs: If you want it to perform a virus scan every day, you have to configure it yourself. When the program updates it’s virus signatures it puts a pop-up on your desktop to encourage you to purchase the commercial version of the software. Simply click “OK” and it goes away.
Rating: 
Conclusion: Avira AntiVir Personal requires less of your systems resources than most antivirus programs and catches more viruses than most of the competition. Get it. The only reason that I give it 4 thumbs instead of 5 is the pop-up that encourages you to purchase the commercial version.
Avira AntiVir Personal: Download free antivirus software HERE.
Thanks,
The Free Downloadable Software Fan
Published on November 5th, 2008 by admin. Filed under Blogging Tool, Free Software, Speed Up, Utility, security | No Comments
TrueCrypt is a free encryption software for Windows. And even if they charged for it, I’d recommend it.
Description: Encrypt sensitive data quickly and securely.
Compatibility: Windows 2000, XP & Vista, OS X 10.4 & 10.5, Linux – Check Here.
Free Encryption Software
Necessary Info: TrueCrypt is an free open source encryption program that has versions for Windows, OS X and Linux. There is almost no limit to the size of the programs that you can encrypt. Trust me, I had a 4 gigabyte encryption file. =)
From their own website “TrueCrypt is a software system for establishing and maintaining an on-the-fly-encrypted volume (data storage device). On-the-fly encryption means that data are automatically encrypted or decrypted right before they are loaded or saved, without any user intervention. No data stored on an encrypted volume can be read (decrypted) without using the correct password/keyfile(s) or correct encryption keys. Entire file system is encrypted (e.g., file names, folder names, contents of every file, free space, meta data, etc).”
There is a ton of documentation so I’m not going to cover it all here but do check out their documentation page.
LifeHacker has a great post on how to use truecrypt.
Rating:
Conclusion: TrueCrypt is good free encryption software for windows. Trust me, I use it myself! Don’t forget to use a strong password!
TrueCrypt: Download free software HERE.
The Free Downloadable Software Fan
Published on October 29th, 2008 by admin. Filed under AntiSpyware, Computer Repair, Free Software, Registry, Speed Up, Tech Support Software, Utility, Windows Repair Software, antivirus | 3 Comments
AutoRuns is a free software utility that allows you to control which applications start when you boot up your computer. You can download AutoRuns HERE.
Description: MSConfig on steroids.
Compatibility: Windows 2000 SP4 through Vista
Necessary Info: When I say it shown you the programs that start up, I mean It shows you EVERY single process that starts up. This is great software for solving problems and speeding up your computer.
What AutoRuns does, essentially, is scan the registry in all places where files can be started. It then lists all possible startup programs and allows you to select which startup files to prevent. You have 2 options if you want to prevent a file from starting upon boot up. You can simply click and uncheck the box with the green check mark in it or you can right-click on an entry and choose to delete it. The difference is that, though both options delete the entry, unchecking the box moves the entry to another location in the registry where it will not be run. Simply rechecking it will put the entry back in its original position and upon reboot that process will start again. If you choose to delete the process there is no easy replacement of it. Be careful.
To speed up your computer, start AutoRuns and click on the “LOGON” tab. Then remove the programs that you think aren’t necessary. BE CAREFUL! Clicking on the wrong box with this tool can prevent your computer from booting up.
When used in conjunction with Process Explorer you have much more information available to you. We will discuss process explorer at a later date.
Rating:
Conclusion: I give this program 4 out of 5 thumbs because it is great but dangerous. With great power comes great responsibility. Use this one wisely.
Download Free Software HERE.
Thanks,
The Free Downloadable Software Fan
