AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 2011

The new AVG Internet Security 2011 has sped up its installation process, although it's not as zippy as the minute-long installations that some of AVG's competitors offer. We found that the program can go from completed download to ready to use in about 5 minutes. Gains might have been made elsewhere, but a big contributing factor to that is that AVG has cut down the number of install screens users see, from 13 in the previous version to 5 in the 2011 version.

AVG's toolbar is still an opt-out feature. It also will commandeer your default search engine for Yahoo, so if you don't want it to do that, you'll have to uncheck the box that changes your search engine, too. Also unchanged is registration, which is a free process and can be completed from within the AVG interface.

Users who opt out of installing the toolbar but want it later will need to rerun the installer to get that component.

AVG Internet Security has some new protective features this year, too. The software offers what it calls "smart scanning," which leverages AVG's behavioral detection network to scan known safe files once, and only rescan them if it detects changes. As with its competitors, AVG's network is made up of its user base anonymously contributing data up to the cloud. You can choose to opt out of contributing your data when you install, or from the options menu. AVG says opting out won't negatively affect your security.

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By : Cnet

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Opera 10.63, delivers fixes in security and usability

Plugged security holes and stability fixes come to fans of the Opera browser as its Norwegian publisher released version 10.63 on Tuesday.

Available for Windows, Mac, Opera 10.63 patches numerous problems that could have posed security risks, including a cross-domain check bypass that allowed data theft, a site address spoof, a reload and redirect problem that also could've allowed spoofing and cross-site scripting, a problem reported by Microsoft that allowed private video streams to be intercepted, and a flaw that caused JavaScript to run in the wrong security context after manual interaction.

Other problems that were addressed include Opera Link freezing on startup, Opera Unite Messenger not loading, the start bar blanking out after opening a background tab, and a ramping up of CPU usage to 100 percent when starting Opera.

Users who've enabled Opera's automatic updates should be upgraded from version 10.62 without having to do anything. Opera 10.63's changelog's can be read for Windows, Mac.

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IP Sniffer 1.98.1.7

IP Sniffer is a suite of IP Tools built around a packet sniffer. The packet sniffer can work on all Windows versions using either: the new raw socket implementation of Windows2000 (driverless), WinPcap (needs to be installed), a NDIS protocol (needs to be installed , no reboot). IP sniffer is a protocol analyzer, that will use the XP/2K Raw Socket features. IP Sniffer is also a suite of IP Tools like: IP trafic monitor, IP statistics, ARP (list & deleter entries, send request), Netbios Names, Route Print, Netstat (shows process attached to a connection, kill attached process, kill tcp entry), Network informations (Params, Adapters, Cards), Spoofing (TCP, UDP, ICMP, ARP), WINS Query, DNS Query (using win32 DNSAPI), DHCP Find, WHOIS, Resolve IP/Hostname, PING (Host & Subnet), TCP Scan (Host & Subnet).

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By : Cnet

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Camfrog Video Chat 5.5.238

If you're sick of hopping from one chatware program to another, looking for the perfect mix of video, audio, and text socializing, CamFrog might be what you're looking for.

The chat rooms feature everything from music lessons to sign language to non-English chatting, and integrating video, audio, and text components are a great leap forward for chat communities since a Webcam is not a requirement. Be warned, though: There's also a slew of X-rated chat rooms--this is not a program that kids should use without supervision.

The interface should be familiar to anyone who has used any messaging software. You can create your own chat room and password-protect it, and the Contacts list has a section for favorite rooms and one-click contact adding, user searching, and profile management. New in Version 5 is high-resolution video support, interface tweaks, and the ability to send little "virtual gifts" to both friends and anonymous recipients that borders on the annoying.

Cautious users should note that the install includes several toolbars and a Weather Channel widget, which you can opt out of. Despite those drawbacks, if you're looking for a well-trafficked video chat program that serves a diverse community, CamFrog is cool place to land.

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By : Cnet

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Sharp World Clock 4.7

It's one world, but keeping track of the time on the other side of the planet requires a little help and a better timepiece than the Windows system clock. One of the best is Sharp World Clock, as clean and accurate a handle as the international timekeepers it displays. You can easily set it to display any number of configurable digital or analog clocks at once in a row or grid; change their sizes, colors, backgrounds, and other aspects; and display national flags for quick visual identification. You can also show day or night indicators, sunrise and sunset times, lunar phases, time zones, and more. It also boasts a zoom-capable world map depicting day and night areas, a configurable alarm clock, a calendar with a reminder feature, and the ability to add your own audio files for alarm sounds.

Both the clocks the program creates and its efficient, intuitive interface are unusually attractive and competently configured without being cluttered or garish, making subtle but effective use of color for highlighting and emphasis, even in the command dialogs. The clocks themselves, and the analog clock faces in particular, have high visual impact and readability, even at distance or a glance, but without resorting to flashy, distracting designs. In fact, they make good use of Vista-style highlighting to achieve the look of real instruments instead of a virtual display.

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By : Cnet

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Trillian Astra 4.2

If it isn't enough to chat with friends from Google, MySpace IM, Skype, and Facebook, as well as AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo, and IRC on Trillian't multinetwork IM app, you can comfortably count the app's deep hooks into Twitter and Facebook alerts and checking e-mail (both POP3 and IMAP varieties) as reasons for switching from your current messenger.

Among its best social networking traits, Trillian will automatically shorten URLs in your tweets, and handle direct messages, re-tweets, and replies. Twitter Trends can show up in your contact list, and you can get tweets to appear in tooltip form. Facebook features include news feed integration, Facebook in-box checking, and synchronized message updating in addition to Facebook IM. Just on these features alone, Trillian Astra offers a bit more than its IM competitors.

In addition, there's support for drag-and-drop file transferring, skins, notifications, and all sorts of tweaking in the preference menu. Trillian earns a thumbs-up for previewing a Web site when you hover the cursor over a URL in the conversation window, but the same feature is less effective and less accurate when applied to looking up definitions of terms found within the chat window (luckily, you can turn the helpers off.)

Legacy users will be pleased to know that Trillian Astra (code for version 4.0 and up) runs lighter than previous versions, and you're less likely to notice system slowdowns because of memory leaks. Video chat gets basic support. The paid upgrade gives you browser-based IM from Trillian.im, full-screen video and filters, many more visual customizations, multiple simultaneous file transfer, and themes, as well as tech support. These features are available for the first 30 days you use the free version, then they deactivate. The biggest changes, besides the reskinned interface, are the long-needed performance improvements and support for a broad range of IM protocols. Longtime fans won't be disappointed with the changes, though those using the free version clearly won't get the full effect of Trillian's more-advanced features.

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By : Cnet

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FreeZ Online TV 1.30

While we love the idea of free TV (who doesn't?), it never seems to be quite what we hoped. FreeZ Online TV is no exception. The channel selection is unimpressive and user guidance is nonexistent.

The most confusing things about the program are the links that appear on the initial screen when the program is opened. We mistakenly believed they might provide more guidance for the program but instead directed us to two different sites promising free online TV. Both require additional downloads, and weren't related to FreeZ Online TV.

That said, once we explored those two false leads, the program itself proved fairly easy to operate, although disappointing in its outcomes. A standard viewing screen sits next to a file tree with 16 main categories, including News, Entertainment, and Weather. Within each category are at least a half dozen channel choices, but many are not in English. Simply click one and it begins playing. The typical media controls to stop, start, pause, etc., become visible at the bottom of the screen as the content buffers. What you won't find are any guides to the channels, which seem randomly selected from various countries around the world. All you get are the call letters (like WSTV) or largely unrecognizable names like NOS Journaal. We also found that many of the listed channels didn't play at all. There are no user settings, so you can't delete or add your own channels, and no Help file or other user guidance is available.

During installation, a box is pre-checked that will add the FreeZ Online TV Toolbar, so be sure to uncheck this if you don't want this little extra. Or, better yet, skip the download altogether and avoid not only the toolbar but this unimpressive program as well.

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By : Cnet

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BitSpirit 3.6.0.401

BitTorrent technology has revolutionized the way we share files, making the transmission of movies, large pieces of software, and entire albums of music a relatively quick process. There are many torrent-sharing clients out there to choose from, and BitSpirit is one of the better ones we've encountered. There's nothing flashy about it; it's just a well-designed, easy-to-use piece of software that makes sharing torrents a breeze.

BitSpirit's interface is attractive and intuitive, and even users with rudimentary torrent knowledge will be able to figure it out. Clear, well-labeled buttons give users access to the program's major functions, and the layout is well-organized and easy to navigate. A small, unobtrusive toolbar with adjustable opacity lets users keep an eye on their torrents even when using other programs. Actually using the BitSpirit is extremely simple; we had no trouble downloading a torrent or creating a new torrent to share. We especially liked that BitSpirit lets users organize downloaded files by media type, making it easy to locate music, books, movies, software, and more. There was nothing about BitSpirit that really wowed us, but that's OK; if a program does the basics and does them well, sometimes that's all you need. We do wish that BitSpirit had a proper Help file instead of a paltry online FAQ, but that's our only major criticism. On the whole, we liked BitSpirit very much.

BitSpirit is free. It installs politely but leaves a folder behind upon removal. We recommend this program to all users.

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By : Cnet

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