Last week we mentioned that Spyware Doctor 6 had been released with little fanfare. Dig around and you can find the new features, but PC Tools have kindly sent through a PDF with the information.

The key improvements are in the application and the speed in which it will scan, detect and remove threats. If your system is laden with spyware, Spyware Doctor 6 is far quicker at finding and then removing the threats. ThreatFire technology has reached Spyware Doctor 6, so preventative methods are built in to the technology to seek and prevent against potential threats, before they infect your PC. Other minor features include support for the improved Security Centre within Windows Vista SP1 and more.

Spyware Doctor 6 link.

It is a common ritual, especially for those of us who use a computer every day for work, to spend time checking out the latest blogs, news and having a look at what your competitors may be doing. Unfortunately we probably spend more time looking at the same old information, rather than anything new. If you add up all the time you spend browsing, over the course of a day or week, it can add up to a significant amount. This is where a monitoring tool could come in useful, checking any changes made to web pages automatically, so you don't have to.

UpdatePatrol 3.1.3 is a web page monitoring tool that keeps an eye on selected we sites, notifying you when any changes are made, highlighting the updated content. Using this tool may enable you to be more productive at work as you wont have to manually check for any updates.

UpdatePatrol 3.1.3 link.  

After the release of Windows Vista, many software suppliers rushed out Vista-compatible software, without spending the required time understanding the new kernel-based security, built in to the new operating system. System Mechanic 7 was a good example. Superb, well-designed and popular software that performed erratically on the new OS. However, Iolo spent time updating, worked hard on a major fix and quickly released System Mechanic 7.5, which has been installed on this Vista-based PC for the last few months, without any issues.

System Mechanic 8 has now been released and is better than ever. The updated ActiveCare module will automate the way you tune and optimise your PC, automatically, without you having to intervene. The new Registry Cleanser will keep your Registry clean, tuned and optimised, whilst the DriveSense module will keep your drive in opitimum shape, informing you of potential issues before you end up with a unresponsive drive.

System Mechanic 8 link.

Templates-driven web design tools are a good way of building your own web site with relative ease. If you don't have a great deal of understanding when it comes to web building and the languages used, templates are a great way of putting together simple and clean looking sites. Even with the most basic understanding it's possible to create functional sites using these tools, some of which enable you to achieve professional looking results.

Rapidweaver 4.01 is a very easy to use template-driven application that ships with numerous themes, with more available online, so there is usually something for everyone. It supports Flash too so you can put your photo collections into online slideshows, in fact, it supports everything needed to create a good quality web site.

Rapidweaver 4.01 link.

There was a time, a few years ago, where you absolutely needed to use Adobe Acrobat to output PDF documents. You could produce web-quality documents using free PDF tools such as Ghostscript, but we now have various PDF generators such as doPDF which will enable you to produce a commercial-quality document from any Windows applications. These days, Adobe place emphasis on editing, managing and collaborating with PDF documents, rather than the iniital production.

Adobe Acrobat 9 is now available, along with the trial version of the Professional edition. Compared to basic editors, such as Jaws PDF Editor 4, it's a huge download at over 325MB. It's also rather expensive, too, at £499 (inc VAT) for a single-user license. If you need to collaborate with other users within your workplace, it's going to be pricy for a multi-seat corporate license.

Adobe Acrobat 9 Professional link.

If you work between multiple computers on a regular basis, it can be a bit of a challenge managing the files you may be working on. If you happen to be updating documents from day-to-day, it's difficult to be sure you're using the latest version. When working across more than machine, it may be beneficial for you to use a file synchronisation tool to ensure that you are always working on your most recent documents.

Super Flexible File Synchronizer 4.14b enables you to synchronise documents and automatically update files and folders over networks or by using Internet sites. Use the wizard mode to schedule synchronisations, this will happen at chosen intervals.

Super Flexible File Synchronizer 4.14b link.

It's a rare occurrence that you stumble across a genuinely useful tool. However, we believe that Evernote 3 is one of those tools that you can, realistically, use to share and synchronise information across various computers. We use it it store information about the software we plan to put up on vnunet.com. This includes interesting downloads, stuff we need to go back and revisit, logos, graphics and more. We can then use Evernote 3 to synchronise this information across our different computers, irresepective of their location (the synchronising is done across the Internet) and operating system.

If we're using Evernote 3 on a Mac, the same information will appear on our Windows-based work computer. The only snag or downside is that you can't share your information with other users. It would be superb if Evernote enables you to take some information and share that with another user's account. At the moment, you can only share info between your own accounts, unless you give someone access to your account (which we do, as we can't think of another way of sharing the info across between different users).

You don't need a need Evernote 3 installed on your machine to access your account. As long as you know your username and password, you can login to your online Evernote account to see the stored information.

Evernote 3 has reached public beta testing stage, so it's now open for anyone to open an account. The free version enables you to synchronise/upload 40MB of traffic each month, which should be enough for most users. If you need more traffic, you can choose to pay $5 for the premium service.

You would have thought that, when you release a major upgrade to your software, a press release, a list of new features and special emphasis on your website would be the minimum amount of promotional activity. For instance, when Ad-Aware 2008 was launched, there was a countdown on the parent site, numerous press reminders, beta previews and more. Same with AVG 8. However, PC Tools have launched their latest anti-spyware software with the absolute minimum amount of fuss.

PC Tools Spyware Doctor 6 is now available. This popular anti-spyware tool also ships as a version with an AntiVirus module, although we've found the standalone basic version is still the most popular. Unfortunately there are no new features highlighted anywhere and we didn't receive any information directly, but we're giving you a special 30% discount from the current version, so there's never a better time to purchase. If you're an existing PC Tools Spyware Doctor 5.x user, you should be able to upgrade within your current license.

PC Tools Spyware Doctor 6 link.

Back in the days of Firefox 2, one of the more useful add-ons was the Google Browser Sync, which is still usable if you've not moved across to Firefox 3. Google decided to stop developing this officially and won't be producing a version of Firefox 3. Instead, Mozilla are busy developing their own browser synchronisation tool, Weave, and there's another usable add-on from Foxmarks.

However, all is not lost as Google Browser Sync has been put in the public domain, which means you might find that a version for Firefox 3 sees the light of day, in the future. Ideal if you're still using Firefox 2 at work and you installed Google Browser Sync.

Firefox 3 is a hugely popular browser; reaching nineteen million downloads and securing a market share of almost twenty percent in its first week of release. Not only is it a powerful browser, but there are also a wealth of add-ons available to enhance the software further. Although there are many add-ons out there, as with most things, some are better than others. Most Firefox users will have their favourites, but a good sidebar tool is a useful addition to most browsers and is well worth considering.

All in One Sidebar 0.7.6 is a useful add-on, similar to that of the Opera sidebar control system. The sidebar can be customised with themes or incorporate other extensions. It will enable you to view downloads and display bookmarks using the sidebar which may enhance your browsing experience.  

All in One Sidebar 0.7.6 link.

We've all been there, you've finally found that video clip or music track you've been searching for online but your media player can't play it. You then have to download and install an application to do so, taking up yet more time. The best media applications when browsing are those that enable you to play multiple file formats, this way you spend more time watching and listening to what you want than you do downloading and installing various players.

Songbird 0.6 is a cross platform media player available for OS, Linux or Windows that supports add-ons. It can stream music and video and download numerous media formats directly into your media library, and you can even manage your own audio ripped from CDs. Although Songbird is still fairly early in its development, with the right add-ons this is already a very useful application.

Songbird 0.6 link.

Generally speaking, burning suites are equipped to copy and burn CDs as well as DVDs, many of which are similar in terms of both performance and price. Unfortunately, as with other applications, they often ship with useless features to try and separate themselves from other, almost identical products. All we require on most occasions is for the DVD to be an exact copy of the original, mainly for backup purposes, with as little fuss as possible.

CloneDVD 2.9.1.9 will enable you to create an exact 1:1 copy of your DVDs. Use it to backup data DVDs or movies; it will compress your DVDs quickly and in high quality, providing a step-by-step assistant so that you get the result you want, first time round.

CloneDVD 2.9.1.9 link.

Skype is a hugely popular Voice over IP application; in fact, it's the most used of any free Internet application. Although it's clearly the best of it's kind, that doesn't mean to say there aren't improvements that can be made to the software. Many people have began to use Skype as their main form of long distance communication, but you still have to rely on the person you want to contact to be available, but that's not exactly convenient when they happen to be on the other side of the world.  

PrettyMay for Skype 3.0.5.8 is a useful voice assistant for Skype that enables you to receive answer-machine messages which are saved as an MP3. You can playback messages, forward them via email or call back the person who left you the message. 

PrettyMay for Skype 3.0.5.8 link.

Open a few tabs within Firefox and it's not too easy to work out which tab applies to each site and, if you have more tabs than the width of your browser, you need to scroll through your open tabs to find your required site. You can quickly loose your tab position and it doesn't always make for a pleasant browsing experience.

Tab Sidebar 2.01 for Firefox is a system similar to the tabs in the Mac-only browser, OmniWeb, where you see a visual preview of each open tab, much like a screen thumbnail of the page. This enables you to quickly check on open sites, switch between your pages and scroll through them more quickly. You can install Tab Sidebar and it won't replace your existing tab system. You can switch it or or off, swiftly if required.

Tab Sidebar link.

This machine is a hybrid Mac/Windows system, with Windows running on a Bootcamp partition. Works well, with few issues. However, I'd much rather boot in to Mac OS X and use this as my day-to-day operating system. Snag is, there are still things that I can't do so easily using the Mac. There is Windows virtualisation, but I often end up back in Windows as my work is far more Windows specific. For Linux users, there is a solution where you can run Windows native apps on top of the operating system.

Wine 1.0 is an application layer that enables you to run certain Windows apps on top of Linux, without having to have Windows installed. Crossover Mac is a similar tool for Mac OS X, which will even enable you to run Microsoft Office 2003 on your Mac.

Wine link.

Inevitably, unused or partially removed software will build up on your PC; this is partly because there are very few applications available that completely remove unwanted software. Although it may seem that you have removed an application, there may be items embedded deep within your system including unwelcome items in your Windows Registry. To keep your computer running as smoothly as possible, these obsolete files should be completely removed.

Advanced Uninstaller Pro 9.2 enables you to maintain a more efficient PC by completely removing unnecessary folders, obsolete files and partially removed software. You can also use it to seek and remove potential threats that may have become embedded in your Registry. 

Advanced Uninstaller Pro 9.2 link.

It wasn't that long ago when we had to use one browser window to manage our browsing experience. If you wanted to visit another website, you needed to open another window. Along came browser-based tabs and we've never looked back. However, some of us still think that this system could be improved. Omniweb uses a fantastic visual method of showing open web pages using a quick page grab, displayed vertically down the side of the browser.

Tree-Style Tab Bar 0.7.2 is a Firefox add-on that enables you to change the way you manage your Firefox tabs. For instance, child pages from your main homepage are displayed as indented tabs, so you can group together tabs from a particular website.

Tree-Style Tab Bar link.

Skype is an easy way of keeping in contact with other users, business colleagues and people situated outside of your office. You can choose to call them via your Skype phone, through a old-style message or via video conferencing, providing you've both got a fast broadband connection.

Skype 4, albeit as an early beta preview, has been made available to download. Although further features are planned for the future, the beta preview ships with a revamped user-interface that has been designed to complement the rise of faster broadband, assuming that end-users will be more likely to use video conferencing than text-based chat. We're not so keen. The interface is now huge and, if you're anything like us, we just use Skype to chat briefly with other users and for the occasional quick Skype-based International call.

Skype 4 link.

USB keys are a popular method for storing files and documents; they are small, hold a reasonable amount of data and are very easy to use. We use them to save documents and work on them at home, at work or on the move. However, when you work on the same document across multiple machines, it's difficult to keep track of the most recently saved files. Keeping your documents up-to-date across all machines is crucial to prevent confusion.

Allway Sync 8.1.0 is a synchronisation tool that enables you to work on and synchronise your most recent files across multiple computers. You can manually start synchronise files or set it to do so at regular intervals. 

Allway Sync 8.1.0 link.

Mozilla recently announced their stats for the recently announced Firefox 3. For such as a territory that's so Internet-savvy, the UK was fourth in the number of users, worldwide, who have downloaded the browser, with just over quarter of a million users. Quite frankly, that's only a few thousand more users than Computeractive readers. Considering the amount of UK users connected to the Internet, the announcement was either overlooked or ignored. Surely we're not a bunch of Internet Explorer users? Perhaps we're big fans of the new Opera 9.5?

Mozilla Firefox 3 is a compelling upgrade. At a basic level, it's much faster than the old Firefox 2. The user-interface has had an overhaul, it's more secure and, of course, is the browser that will be updated and supported from now onwards.

Mozilla Firefox 3 link.

If you're a big fan of Spyware Doctor, remember it's only protecting you from a small number of Internet-based threats. You need a rounder and more complete suite of security software to prevent intrusion, spam attack as well as possible infection from the latest virus-based Trojan.

With Computeractive issue 269, on-sale now, you can get the full complete version of PC Tools Internet Security 2008, with a whole year's worth of definition updates, for free. This suite of security software, worth £49, will protect against anti-virus threats, spyware, spam and has a firewall to protect your PC from intruders outside your local network.

Computeractive 269 link.

Although many of us shop and bank online, it's still difficult to stay in control of personal finances. It can be surprising when you sit down and look at what's coming in and what's going out and it may benefit you if you are able to see where your money is spent. Whether you're managing your own, a small organisation or your families finances, there are a number of applications available to make it easier to keep track.  

iCash 4.4.1 enables you to manage all areas of finance from income to credit and bank transactions. It's versatile and user friendly, it's also as equipped for managing financial information for a single user, as well as a small business.

iCash 4.4.1 link.

Over recent years, what were once useful utilities that occupied minimal disc space, have now become large and often overblown. Many applications such as CD burners have since become 'burning suites' which often ship with various gimmicky features, such as designing your own covers for CD mixes and so on. It is often the case that you pay good money for these 'features' when all you need is a simple, easy-to-use CD copier.

CloneCD 5.3.1.3 is a small 1:1 CD copier that enables you to quickly and easily copy CDs and DVDs, including dual layer. It's a simple application for what should be a simple task. Use it to directly copy almost all CD and DVD formats.  

CloneCD 5.3.1.3 link.

Use your PC for a period of time and it becomes cluttered with temporary install files, software that remains on your system when you browse the Internet and your Registry becomes full of information when you've installed and then removed software from your computer. What you need is tuning and optimisation software that makes the process of removing these files an automated process. You don't want to be attempting to remove these files manually.

Ashampoo WinOptimizer 4 is our current full commercial download, worth £30. It does a lot more than just cleanse and tune your system. For instance, you can streamline your Registry, securely wipe files from your computer, visually improve aspects of the Windows interface, such as the default icons and much more.

Ashampoo WinOptimizer 4 link.

Although some versions of Windows can be tweaked more easily than others, there are ways of making alterations to suit your needs by using an optimisation tool. More extensive tools will enable users to tweak many different aspects of their operating system, from boot options to network and Internet options. Tweaking your system comes in useful for configuring performance for a variety of tasks such as gaming, audio editing or to give all round performance.

Ashampoo PowerUp 3.20 is a user friendly optimisation tool that ships with a selection of 'profiles' that are designed to enhance performance in a specific area, dependant on what you are doing. As the settings are pre-defined, it enables you to quickly tune your machine whenever required with minimum disruption.


Ashampoo PowerUp 3.20 link. 

Buy yourself the quiet Mac Mini, disconnect it from an LCD screen and then use it as a standalone media server. You could even hide it in a cupboard or other storage area and access wirelessly. It's easily possible. Simply use iTunes to control your media connection and then buy an Airport Express for every device where you want to play back your audio. For instance, the stereo in your kitchen could be named as 'Kitchen', whereas your powerful hi-fi in the sitting room given a 'Sitting Room' reference. You can then stream the same audio track to multiple speakers, so you can listen whilst you move between rooms.

Signal 1.1.2 is a device that enables you to install on your Mac or Windows and then remotely control iTunes from your iPhone, iPod Touch or Pocket PC device. Works superbly and you can walk around with your iPod Touch and assign audio to your speakers and more.

Signal link.

Software suppliers generally offer various promotions to encourage users to move over to their security application and, once installed, as long as the user doesn't experience a problem, it's unlikely they'll bother to switch to alternative security software. For this reason, look around and you'll find various long-term security licenses available for you to test the software for longer than the standard 30-days.

CA AntiVirus is a commercial-grade antivirus tool but still worth examining for the average home user. We've found an extended 12 month license which is open to everyone, but doesn't appear to have an end date, so we'd advise you sign up sooner rather than later.

CA AntiVirus link. 

We've all done it, your on the phone and you need to quickly jot down a number or email address, often on the nearest scrap of paper you can find. Unless you store the number after your call, it's likely that the scrap of paper will end up lost or work its way into the bin. Virtual sticky note utilities are excellent for such scenario's, you can access them extremely quickly and key in any information you need just as quickly, if not quicker than jotting it down with pen and paper.

IQ Notes 3.36 is a sticky note application that helps you to quickly store, organise and archive contact details, synchronise notes between multiple computers and add notes to web pages, spreadsheets and other applications.    

IQ Notes 3.36 link.

Install Windows on your system and, although the installer will look for and install drivers relevant to your hardware components, you'll never have the latest drivers available for your computer. For this reason, we recommend you spend time updating your drivers and making sure you have the latest up-to-date drivers on your system. However, if you ever need to re-install Windows on your PC, you'd be back to you old drivers and the problems you experienced previously.

DriverMax 4.1 is a free tool designed to backup, store and enable you to restore your drivers if you run in to system-related problems in the future. Simply re-install Windows as normal, locate your backed up drivers and restore. Reboot your PC and you'll have all your latest drivers back on your system.

DriverMax 4.1 link.

Purchasing a new PC can be a potential mine field, all companies need to make money and computer manufacturers are no different. A PC you buy or order will obviously have to match the advertiser's description to some degree, but some manufacturers will cut corners by installing lower quality components. For instance, your new PC may have a 250GB hard drive, but it may be painfully slow to access. Even if you upgrade your PC, it's possible for a novice to become unstuck. The only way of really getting the facts is to perform a PC audit.

Belarc Advisor 7.2.24.5 will perform an audit, identifying all installed operating systems and software versions. It will also perform audits on installed hardware, so you can know how your PC is truly performing by benchmarking all areas of performance.

Belarc Advisor 7.2.24.5

It seems like a year since we first put Opera 9.5 beta online and available to download, alongside the existing 9.2x. However, we really expected it to move quickly from beta to release stage, yet the beta testing has gone on for ages, with updates every week for months. However, Opera 9.5 is a major release, even though it may appear that it's only a minor version update since the previous 9.2 release.

The most obvious improvement is that Opera 9.5 is now far faster than the previous version and it now ships with an enhanced user-interface, so it's rather obvious you've installed the new version. Other highlights include a Quick Find feature so you can locate previous sites, pages and locations. Quick Link now enables you to use your Opera account to synchronise your bookmarks and other Opera data between different computers.

Opera 9.5 link.

Only the other week we were posting that Firefox 3 Release Candidate 2 was now available, that it was 'code complete' and, although we may see another RC made available before the final release (due June 17), if you wanted to try and get in to Firefox 3, you could quite easily use the RC2 without any issues. We still stand by that statement.

However, this morning we see Firefox 3 Release Candidate 3 is now available and quickly attempted an automatic ugprade within our installed Firefox 3 (Help > Check for Updates). Nothing happened, no new update installed.

Why not? Nothing new in the Windows edition of Firefox 3 RC3, which means RC2 users do not need the new update. However, if you've yet to try Firefox 3, now is a good time to try the new browser. Apple Mac OS X Firefox 3 RC2 users will see a benefit as RC3 does contain a number of bug fixes.

Firefox 3 Release Candidate 3 link.

Many people who use a PC for work will perform the same or similar tasks over and over again. Often these tasks are fairly mundane but necessary but would'nt it be more productive to be able to perform them quickly, leaving more time to concentrate on more worthwhile and interesting tasks. Automisation tools are beneficial in a number of scenario's and the office is no exception, why not use one to create a few keyboard shortcuts and hotkeys? Even if it's just to filling web forms or filling in passwords, they could save you time.

WireKeys 3.6.7 is a handy automisation tool for Windows that enables you to automise frequently performed actions. You can also use it to create keyboard shortcuts for launching applications or open documents as well as set up hot keys for minimising or closing documents quickly.

WireKeys 3.6.7 link. 

Up until recently there were two different types of backup software. File and folder backup tools that would enable you to select the files you required for backup, the backup location and then schedule a routine to backup these files automatically. The type of backup tool would take your drive or drive partition, back it up in its entirety, then perform a regular incremental backup when you write or change files on that drive.

Paragon Drive Backup 9 Personal is a superb drive backup tool that now enables you to select individual files and folders for backup, perhaps if you only want to backup certain elements on a particular partition. If you still want to backup your entire drive, you can now unselect particular files and folders on a partition and they will save space on your intended backup location.

Paragon Drive Backup 9 Personal link.

Use your PC for a few months, and after installing, removing and using software, your Registry will become stagnated with erroneous entries, your drive will slow as it becomes fragmented and your computer will boot more slowly as there are more applications launching when you start your PC.

TuneUp Utilities 2008 is a superb commercial tweaking and optimisation tool. Quite frankly, we're impressed. It's packed with tons of useful tools to speed up your PC, optimise your computer, keep it maintained and get the most from the existing installation. It's definitely the most comprehensive tweaking tools we've ever seen and worth a test-drive to see if it betters your existing software.

TuneUp Utilities 2008 link.

Clutter such as useless folders and files inevitably end up on our system. Whether it's downloaded material, saved word documents or image files, we often use our desktop to temporarily locate a folder or file. Although we start with the intention of removing or deleting these files once used, we don't always get round to it. If this happens over a period of time, it becomes harder to identify what has and hasn't been used, making it more difficult to determine what to remove or not. 

ClutterKiller 1.0.1. is an useful utility for identifying and removing the build up of unused files that accumulate on your PC. Use it to create shortcuts to instantly organise files and folders into type, just drag them into the interface and they will be instantly sorted into the correct categories.

ClutterKiller 1.0.1 link.

Copy and paste is function many of us use, especially for those of us who use a computer each day. Spreadsheet data, text, graphics and even pictures can be copied, but not all software will enable you to paste directly into a document, or it pastes everything, line breaks and all. An ideal solution for copying information is a clipboard tool, such tools enable you to store gathered text, images and any other information you may need to edit or use within a document at a later date.

ClipMate 7.3.10 is a handy tool for grabbing and storing anything you may want to edit, use or refer to, it's easy to use and could save you time when putting documents together. You can also save the original information, reffering to it whenever you need.

ClinklipMate 7.3.10 link.

Keeping security software up-to-date is crucial for protecting your PC. The list of threats ever increasing, and malicious software producers are finding more ingenious ways of accessing and infecting your computer. We use our PCs for a wealth of important tasks such as shopping and banking and when you are dealing this personal or sensitive information, it's imperative that your machine is as secure as it can be. 
Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool is regularly updated tool that enables you to identify and remove any unwanted infections. Simply download the small tool, run a scan, identify and automatically remove the latest online threats.

As we benefit from faster broadband, online video portals are being used by many, whether searching for a music video, humorous clip or the latest news. The trouble is that websites like YouTube aren't always the best way for finding specific or up-to-date videos. However, RSS players provide greater choice and enable users to compile lists of available channels, you can also use them to view clips or programs, plus use them to download your favourite clips straight to your PC.

Miro 1.2.4 is a quick and easy solution for watching TV online. It has comprehensive list of already available channels, for watching directly or downloading and watching at a later date. Miro will store downloaded videos and once your disk space fills up, will automatically delete older videos.

Miro link.

Whilst Microsoft (Windows Media Player), Real (RealPlayer) and Apple (QuickTime) battle to dominate the commercial audio/video player market, there are a number of free alternatives that can do a better job, play back multiple audio and video formats, whilst remaining cost and advert free.

VLC Media Player 0.8.6h is one of the best multi-platform audio/video playback tools that will enable you to show and view just about any media, irrespective of the operating system. If you have some encoded on your Mac, you can use VLC to playback the video on both the Mac and on your Windows laptop.

VLC Media Player link.

Your free homepage could be used to host and supply media files to your friends and family, without having to create a fancy website to manage your files. The snag is, with digital cameras taking photos in up to 10 megapixels, the resulting files are huge. ZIP up 20 of your favourite holiday photos and you'll soon find that you've utilised your free web space and friends are complaining the the archive is too large to download.

Stuffit 11 Standard is a superb archive management tool that enables you to manage just about any archive, from ZIP, through to TAR, SIT and other formats. You can get the most from your media files by creating your own archive. Best of all, we're giving away the full commercial version, free of charge, worth £15, with every copy of Computeractive issue 268, on-sale right now.

Computeractive link.

Although Firefox is one of the most secure browsers available, there may still be some malicious sites it fails to identify. It is common knowledge that not all sites can be trusted, and visiting some may cause you to receive numerous unwanted emails and some may even send spam or ship adware with downloads. The trouble is identifying these harmful sites or pages before it's too late.

McAfee SiteAdvisor for Firefox is a useful add-on that enables you to identify potentially dangerous pages or sites by using a traffic light style warning system. Green signifies trusted sites, yellow for sites that may send unwanted mail and red for sites they may infect your PC with spam or adware. There is also an Internet Explorer version available.   

Although we doubt this will be the last release candidate, if you're a Firefox 3 user, release candidate 2 is now available to download. Whereas RC1 had a few minor visual improvements, so far we've yet to see anything obviously new in the latest version, apart from a few fixes and back-end updates. If you have Firefox 3 installed, you'll probably be more wise heading to the Help menu and selecting 'Check for Updates' as the browser will automatically download and install the correct version.

Alternatively, head to the Mozilla Firefox 3 RC2 download page and select the version you require for your system.

Mozilla Firefox 3 RC2 link.

Accessing commonly used directories can be tedious, Windows Explorer does a great job at managing files, but navigating to a single location repeatedly could be done more quickly. There are free, easy to use alternatives, some of which can be customised to fulfil your needs. Some third party utilities enable you to set directory paths for regularly accessed folders; you can also create lists of directories and view one or multiple windows.

Side-By-Side Explorer 2.0 is a small but useful application that runs I your system tray, providing quick access to your most visited directories via multiple explorer windows. It’s a handy tool for anyone going back and forth through directories and folders.

Connect your mobile to your PC, install the supplied software and you'll be able to access and manage every part of your phone, from uploading music, creating a wallpaper, managing your ringtones through to synchronising your contacts. However, it's less easy on your Mac. If iSync supports your mobile, you'll be able to synchronise contact and calendar information.

FoneLink 2 is commercial software that's designed to enable you to maximise your mobile phone from your Mac. Quickly move across files, manage media on the device, edit contacts, produce your own ringtone and much more. As it's a Mac OS X application, it's well designed, too.

FoneLink 2 link.

Some of the personalisation features within Windows seem a little limited; sure you can change your desktop background, colour scheme and tweak various display features, but it’s still fairly restricted. However, there are various third party applications available that offer further customisation, such as an icon editor. A decent icon editor enables you to edit current desktop icons, or even create your own, completely original one from scratch.

Sib Icon Editor 4 makes it easy for you to create your own icons for all copies of Windows, including Vista. This was once for commercial use, it’s now available for free and still boasts high quality icon production, including 32-bit colour and transparency.

With the rise in fast broadband, it's going to be relatively easy to store and share our files, online, without having to open up our computer and give access to remote users. Incremental backup means that, once the initial backup is complete, only files we've altered since the last backup will be backed up online, meaning that backing up our data will be a relatively quick process, in the future.

We recently discussed SugarSync which is a backup and file synchronisation tool that will enable you to take the files you want to backup from your PC and then store them in an online account. Install SugarSync on another computer and you can then synchronise the files from your online account back to the other computer. If the other computer is a Mac, you could synchronise your documents folder between PC and Mac and vice-versa.

Syncplicity is similar, but has both advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage is that it's very easy to use, well-designed and enables you to select folders to share with other Syncplicity members. You simply select the folder you require to share, choose the users who you want to give access and then share. You can give them simple read-only access or full read/write capabilities. The main disadvantage with Syncplicity is that there is no Mac client, so no sharing or synchronising to and from your Mac.

We have both a SugarSync and Synplicity account and prefer the design of Syncplicity. It's more professional in appearance. Either way, both SugarSync and Syncplicity have free trial accounts you can choose to use to see which is the best for your situation.

Although it's used by many corporations, Outlook has a rather outdated and clunky way of storing your email. It's used the same .pst database system for years and can take a lot of system resources when downloading, processing and storing your email (although this does seem to have improved with Outlook 2007). It's too easy to get frustrated, cancel the downloading email or even attempt to close Outlook. Either way, you'll then have to re-download the same emails again in the future and may be left with duplicates on your system.

Outlook Duplicate Items Remover is a free tool that you can use to search through your Outlook email folder and check for duplicate emails. Any duplicates are then moved to a separate folder where you can simply erase from your database.

Outlook Duplicate Items Remover link.

Store data on an external drive and you need to be aware that erasing or formatting that drive will leave the contents recoverable. Give the drive to another person and they could spend time with recovery software attempting to search and find files you've previously stored on the drive. Worse, give away an old computer and it may still contain your accounts, email correspondence and other personal files you believe you deleted securely, when you moved them to trash.

Free Wipe Wizard 1.5 is a completely free tool that enables you to safely and securely wipe files from your internal or any external drive, including removable media. It uses an algorithm to go back over the content, so even if someone attempts recover the content, they'll find a mash of files rather than anything usable.

Free Wipe Wizard link.