ReviewColumn's rating :

Downloads have never been this fast or easy. With the Internet Download Manager (IDM), users can download files at a maximum of 5 times their normal speed. Unlike other download accelerators out there, this one actually works and I've already used it for several month. It even works on some file-hosting websites, making it a very versatile and useful tool for those who treat downloading files to be a norm.

IDM was created by the Internet Download Manager Corporation, which is a subsidiary of Tonec Inc. It is a comprehensive download manager that allows users to not only speed up their downloads, but also to resume broken links and schedule downloads. It also has an error recovery system which allows users to resume downloads which might have been broken due to a sudden power outage, lost of internet connection, etc. How does this program work? To put it simply, it splits the same file up into smaller parts and then downloads each individual part simultaneously; it finally patches the pieces together to form the original file.

Unlike other download accelerators that make groundless claims, Internet Download Manager actually shows the user what it is doing by indicating how many parts the file is split into, and the amount of data already downloaded in those parts. The speed of the downloads is truely amazing, averaging at around 300-600 KB/s, as compared to the usual 150KB/s (if you're lucky).

Another function that the IDM has to offer is the capability to download clips off hosting websites such as YouTube and Google Video using its FLV Grabber. This means that users no longer need to use other unreliable websites to download media from those sites. The video quality downloaded is also not too bad. As for the other types of videos downloaded off websites of the same function, they are a far cry as compared to the ones the IDM has to offer.

Personally, I've been using the IDM for all my downloads as far as possible (except for those websites that do not allow the usage of download managers). The good thing about IDM is that it's a free program to try out for 30 days. Those interested should consider registering and for just a small fee, you'd be able to drastically improve your download speeds. IDM has also been voted by several websites including Download.Com, TopShareWare.Com and many others as one of their top choices, regardless of it being user-picked top 5 or the editor's choice.

All in all, the Internet Download Manager is an excellent program that allows users to increase their download speeds by leaps and bounds. The only drawback is that it is not a free program. Regardless of that, for those people that are looking for a reliable download manager, IDM is the one for you.

For more information on the Internet Download Manager, visit http://www.internetdownloadmanager.com/

Rate this application, give us your rating:
(1 votes, average: 3 out of 5)
 Loading ...

ReviewColumn's rating :

One of the most reliable web browsers around the net, Mozilla Firefox has been relied on by many for safe web browsing and its ability to allow multiple downloads (unlike the Internet Explorer's (IE) of just 2 parallel downloads). It has been trusted by many for years since its development. Although doubted by many during its initial launch, it has grown much into a household name for net browsers. Today, it has achieved much and is currently the world's most used web browser, comparable to the IE.

One of the few reasons why Mozilla Firefox became so popular was because of its uniqueness in the web browser. For one, it allows users to customize their own version of the Firefox with various themes like Aero Fox, NASA Night Launch and much much more. As compared to the IE's standard look, the Firefox is much more user-friendly and users could download various themes to constantly have a fresh look for the browser. It also provides thousands of add-ons to keep the web browser unique and users can customize them to make it their own personal web browser. It is also one of the first web browsers that allows tab browsing, in which only recently did IE also implement that feature. To the layman, it simply means to view multiple web pages without opening up more than one web browser windows, allowing it to be easy to keep track of what the users are actually viewing.

The security of the Firefox is also something that many rely on. Unlike the IE, which is virus-plagued, the Firefox has much less viruses to worry about and has a much better capability to hold back attacks from the cyberworld. Due to its constant security updates to prevent virus attacks, it is heavily updated by the latest virus protection technology, and hence, many people feel much safer using the Firefox, knowing well that they and their personal information are protected from unauthorized access.

Personally, I've been using the Firefox for several years now and it has proven its capability to me by protecting me against viruses and safeguarding my personal information. The ability that allows me to customize the very look of my browser continues to keep my browser fresh and not a boring old standard outlook of the IE. Ultimately, it is a reliable web browser. Although some websites, especially the official government and some education websites requires the use of the function of the IE to work properly, Firefox is currently trying to be adaptable and try to accommodate such websites to ensure that they are able to work in the Firefox.

All in all, Mozilla Firefox is a very reliable and trustworthy web browser that protects the people's interest as well as keeping harmful viruses off the reach of our computers. For those who are considering Firefox, hesitate no more, for which it is one that would definitely live up to the expectations of many.

Rate this application, give us your rating:
(1 votes, average: 4 out of 5)
 Loading ...

ReviewColumn's rating :

ZoneAlarm, a name familiar to many. In its many years of service, ZoneAlarm has already protected many against malicious programs and hacking attempted on our computers. Saviour to many, it has defended bravely in the face of the ever-growing strength of hacking attempts. Protecting its clients is what ZoneAlarm does best.

Still wondering what ZoneAlarm is, it is actually a firewall which protects the user's computer from invasion of malicious softwares and hacking attempts. Security levels can be set at a level suitable for the users themselves, from simple program access to the computer to assaults from programs to the network, ZoneAlarm is effective in preventing such programs from gaining access to your computers and networks.

To put it simple, ZoneAlarm protects the computer by putting it behind a firewall. Ever heard of the term "Prevention is better than cure"? Simply, ZoneAlarm prevents such issues from happening. For those who wants more from ZoneAlarm besides the standard firewall function, it also provides other services such as Anti-Viruses and Anti-Spyware detection programs. Hence, the ZoneAlarm security suite provides an all-rounded protection from malicious programs.

Even the most common programs would have to ask for permission in order to function. If permission isn't granted, the programs would not run and would simply freeze in the boot-up scene. Allowing time for the user to consider whether to allow it or not. If any unknown programs want to gain access to the computer, the user has the choice to deny access first and go online to check the security of such programs. Then, if the program is found to be safe for usage, users could access the firewall and allow such programs to function.

However, there's this tiny drawback. When the security level of the firewall is shifted up to maximum, issues like cookies and other tiny background programs also have to go through the system, making running programs take much longer as security alerts and asking of permission for access to the computer would make many pissed with the constant permission alerts and confirmation alerts.

ZoneAlarm is a very good substitute for the Windows Firewall. Personally, I never actually bothered about the Windows Firewall when i used ZoneAlarm. I just feel that there's no need to have both on at the same time and the firewall that Windows provide is pretty vulnerable to attacks and doesn't seem to have much freedom for the user to control the programs' eligibility to have access to the computer/network. It also doesn't show which programs are blocked and which are not. Moreover, Windows Firewall doesn't seem to have the ability to allow programs to function properly behind the firewall but in the case of ZoneAlarm, it allows programs to work properly behind it as long as the individual details of the programs are set up properly to do so.

All in all, for those who are in desperate need for a firewall or a security system that is guaranteed to work, ZoneAlarm is the choice for you. Best of all, Zone Labs (the developers of ZoneAlarm) provides a free edition of the firewall for personal usage. So, ZoneAlarm is not only effective, but also pretty much a full-coverage firewall which takes care of almost all program access.

Download Free ZoneAlarm Security Software Trial Products

Rate this application, give us your rating:
(1 votes, average: 4 out of 5)
 Loading ...

Buy related products from eBay:

US $24.99 End Date: Thursday Jan-08-2009 19:08:03 PST Buy It Now for only: US $24.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $25.95 End Date: Thursday Jan-08-2009 19:58:13 PST Buy It Now for only: US $25.95 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $12.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Friday Jan-09-2009 13:08:34 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

ReviewColumn's rating :

Every computer needs a functional program to counter threats of viruses and malicious spyware, in both preventive and reactive aspects. Certainly, there is a plethora of quality anti-virus software in the market that a reasonable amount of money can buy. Given this market's high level of competitiveness, one would be overjoyed if there is software that provides rock-solid protection free-of-charge. Without a shadow of doubt, the AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition has indeed brought smiles to faces of millions of users around the globe.

AVG Free Edition is not a new entry into this market; in fact, it has been around for a few years. According to Grisoft (the manufacturers), AVG has a total user count of approximately 60 million worldwide. The software is free to download and offers fundamental protection against modern electronic threats like spyware, Trojans and root kits.

The software allows you to scan your computer selectively, or to scan the entire hard drive, which is the default setting. The Test Centre can be accessed from the basic navigation window. From the Test Centre, updates for the software can be downloaded from the Grisoft server, which is rather redundant, in my opinion, since automatic updates are run every 2 hours by default. The scheduler can be configured manually to arrange for scans every fixed interval, as well as to set the time when you want AVG to update its virus database. The scanner automatically integrates itself in Outlook and becomes the default email-scanner, and with manual configuration, it can work together with other programs as well.

AVG Free Edition also has a very useful Resident Shield, which offers 'real-time protection' of your computer and your files. This means that it works as you surf the Internet and open files, it guarantees that your files in your computer would not be infected by any potential harmful viruses that may be transmitted.

In the unfortunate event that a file does get infected and become corrupted, the AVG Free Edition is still fully equipped to handle that eventuality. The infected files are quarantined in the Virus Vault, and can be eliminated from the computer. Of course, system files will not be deleted but secured inside the Vault and access restricted to prevent the virus from triggering.

The basic difference between the paid version (AVG Anti-Virus Professional) and the Free Edition is that in the Pro edition, there is much more advanced options on the scanner, making the scanner a hugely versatile tool. Also, users of Free Edition are lower on the priority list when updating the database as Pro users will take precedence. However, these two issues are not a significant concern - home users do not need more than the basic scanning functions and control for home protection; and the Grisoft server is so fast that it does not make much of a difference, be it Pro or Free.

Holistically, the fundamental features of AVG Free Edition are more than satisfactory, and can definitely provide security against malignant viruses. However, a significant amount of spyware can still get back the Free Edition's defenses and as such, requires the download of another AVG product - the AVG Anti-Spyware. The Free Trial is available for download and once the trial period expires, some features will be locked but it still remains a functional anti-spyware program. The scanning process is comprehensive enough for domestic use and the Resident Shield is a potent line of defense against viruses. It requires very little computer resources and scanning is very fast compared to scanning on Norton or BitDefender.

What I was disappointed with was that the scanner on AVG could not scan external drives, for example my USB thumb drive. It will detect the virus and prompt you to quarantine files but is unable to get rid of the threat. Also, as mentioned earlier, the AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition remains vulnerable to spyware intrusions. Moreover, the nature of an anti-virus software is that it is not stand-alone and it should work hand-in-hand with programs like anti-spyware and firewalls to fully protect a computer from external threats and this means that you would have to purchase or download yet another program like ZoneAlarm.

All in all, it is an easy interface to work with, most functions being self-explanatory and I would highly recommend AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition to all home users who require protection against basic threats.

Click here to download the latest version of AVG Anti-Virus software
Rate this software, give us your rating:
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
 Loading ...

Buy related products from eBay:

US $15.50 (8 Bids) End Date: Thursday Jan-08-2009 17:21:40 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

US $10.50 (8 Bids) End Date: Thursday Jan-08-2009 17:40:59 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

US $19.99 End Date: Saturday Jan-10-2009 20:52:55 PST Buy It Now for only: US $19.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

ReviewColumn's rating :

The PDF format is definitely an industry standard for many documents, especially soft-copies of manuals that are distributed online. While Mac users (like myself) need not worry about opening and reading these PDF documents (since Mac OS X comes with the software Preview which is able to open both pictures and PDF files), Windows users are often stuck with having to download the Adobe Reader which is often slow and buggy since it takes up quite a lot of system resources for a program that's just used to open documents. Thankfully, there's now an alternative to the Adobe Reader: Foxit Reader, a free PDF reader for the Windows platform.

Despite the somewhat strange name, Foxit is actually a really good piece of software. It does one thing only: read PDF files of course, but it does that job pretty darn well. For starters, the installation file which you have to download is only around 2mb. As compared to Adobe Reader's installation file, which is 20mb, you'll be able to download Foxit Reader much faster. Obviously, a small installation file translates into an extremely lightweight program unlike the Adobe Reader. You'll immediately notice the difference in speed between Foxit and Adobe Reader the first time you run the program. Compared to Adobe Reader, Foxit is blazingly fast. When you open a PDF file, it almost immediately pops up (the speed depends on your computer of course) and you don't need to stare at a splash screen like the one found in Adobe Reader.

Once open, Foxit Reader takes up a lot lesser system resources as well, being a much more lightweight program. As long as your computer isn't too old, you should be able to scroll through most PDF files pretty smoothly. The search function also works faster as compared to Adobe Reader, allowing you to search for a particular word or phrase extremely quickly. All these features allow you to quickly browse through PDF files using Foxit instead of constantly having to wait for Adobe Reader to catch up with your actions. It has a standard PDF viewer layout, with all the pages listed at the side for easy reference and has most of the features you'd come to expect from such a program.

Of course, Foxit doesn't just display PDF files. There are several annotation tools available that allow you to make notes on PDF files. You can draw graphics, highlight text or add your own, then save or print out your edited PDF to keep. These tools will obviously come in very handy for many people who wish to make comments on a certain portion of a PDF file. If necessary, Foxit will also allow you to convert an entire PDF file into a simple text file so that you can easily manipulate the text, not that it's hard to manipulate it within Foxit in the first place. Best of all, Foxit is completely free to download for personal, non-commercial use. While some might be worried about any spyware or virus being included in the installation file, rest assured that there's no such thing in there (I've checked that out for myself).

There really isn't much else to say about Foxit Reader, after all it's just a PDF reader. However, I definitely recommend that everyone switch to using Foxit instead of Adobe Reader to open PDF files because it's a lot more reliable and stable. Furthermore, being a freeware program, there really isn't any excuse for you to not get this program now.

Rate this application, give us your rating:
(3 votes, average: 3.33 out of 5)
 Loading ...