HDTV BUYING GUIDE

Interested in buying an HDTV? Before you do, see what HDTV expert Robert Heron has to say.


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Must Have Freeware

GRISOFT'S AVG Antivirus Software works great.

Highlights include:

* Automatic update functionality
* The AVG Resident Shield, which provides real-time protection as files are opened and programs are run
* The AVG E-mail Scanner, which protects your e-mail
* The AVG On-Demand Scanner, which allows the user to perform scheduled and manual tests
* Free Virus Database Updates for the lifetime of the product
* AVG Virus Vault for safe handling of infected files
* Great customer satisfaction!

http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/


Avast! Antivirus Software works great also- It has a cool boot scan and different skins.

Features overview:
*Antivirus kernel
*Simple User Interface
*Resident protection
*System integration
*Virus Chest
*updates
*Web Shield
*NNTP (Newsgroup) Scanner
*Outlook Express archive unpacker
*Lower memory footprint
*New language packs
*Finer recognition of malware types

http://www.avast.com/eng/down_home.html

FREE ANTI-SPYWARE AND ANTI-ADWARE APPLICATIONS

Lavasoft's ADAWARE SE:

Ad-Aware is designed to provide advanced protection from known Data-mining, aggressive advertising, Parasites, Scumware, selected traditional Trojans, Dialers, Malware, Browser hijackers, and tracking components. With the release of Ad-Aware SE Personal edition, Lavasoft takes the fight against Spyware to the next level.

http://www.lavasoft.de/

SPYBOT - SEARCH & DESTROY:

Removal of adware and spyware
Removal of dialers
Removal of keyloggers
Removal of trojans and other baddies
Removal of usage tracks
User-extendable database
Save removal of threats by shredding them

http://safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html

JAVACOOL'S SPYWAREBLASTER - Works great with SPYBOT S&D

# Prevent the installation of ActiveX-based spyware, adware, browser hijackers, dialers, and other potentially unwanted pests.
# Block spyware/tracking cookies in Internet Explorer and Mozilla/Firefox.
# Restrict the actions of potentially dangerous sites in Internet Explorer.

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/index.html


LEXUN'S REGSCRUB 3.25 - Works just fine cleaning the registry.

Safely cleans junk out of the Windows2000/XP System Registry, making it smaller and faster to access.

All changes made to the Registry are fully restorable to it's original condition.

You can make an exclusion list of Registry entries that RegScrubXP will not display as problems.

You can sift through a list of File Extensions, Company Names, "Run Upon Startup" programs, Internet Explorer History, and Uninstall programs to delete what you think is junk.

Tweak the Registry with the easy to use Tweaker! Additional help file with dozens of XP tweaks!

RegScrubXP is absolutely free, no strings attached! Pass it around! Give it to your friends!

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=2048

LEXUN DRVCARE VISTA- Great free software that can schedule diskcleanup, defragment, and scandisk once a week or use windows task manager to run it more often.

Take care of your XP hard drives the easy way.
Cleans, scans, fixes drive errors, defrags.
Automatically defrag when your system is idle.
Use your own defragger if you prefer it over the one that comes with XP.
Includes scheduling.

http://majorgeeks.com/DrvCareVista_d4708.html

LEXUN BACKUP SOLUTION - You can backup files, folders, or a whole partition and save the backup to your hard drive or cds/dvds. Microsoft's NT Backup will not allow you to backup to cds or dvds.

A reliable directory or drive backup solution for those looking for a powerful, yet easy to use backup and restore application.

·Save several operating system configurations and restore (go back in time) when needed.
·Significantly reduce operating system re-installations.
·Install your operating system and applications once, configure all your settings, save the drive, then come back to that point in time, anytime, in minutes.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/Lexun_Backup_Solution_d3785.html

MOZILLA'S FIREFOX - A GREAT WEB BROWSER


Enjoy a Better Web Experience

Firefox 2 delivers helpful new features to make your online experience more productive.
Stay Secure on the Web

Firefox continues to lead the way in online security, and now includes active protection from online scams to keep you safer.
Personalize Your Browser

Choose from over a thousand useful add-ons that enhance Firefox. It’s easy to personalize Firefox to make it your own.

(CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO DOWNLOAD IT)



FREE UP SPACE AND HAVE YOUR SYSTEM RUN FASTER

CCLEANER - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Cleans the following:

* Internet Explorer Cache, History, Cookies, Index.dat.
* Recycle Bin, Temporary files and Log files.
* Recently opened URLs and files.
* Third-party application temp files and recent file lists (MRUs).
Including: Firefox, Opera, Media Player, eMule, Kazaa, Google Toolbar, Netscape, Office XP, Nero, Adobe Acrobat, WinRAR, WinAce, WinZip and more...
* Advanced Registry scanner to remove unused and old entries (includes backup).
Including File Extensions, ActiveX Controls, ClassIDs, ProgIDs, Uninstallers, Shared DLLs, Fonts, Help Files, Application Paths, Icons, Invalid Shortcuts and more...
* This software is completely free and contains no Spyware or Adware.

http://www.ccleaner.com/

ALSO AFTER USING CCLEANER (OR ANYTIME AFTER REMOVING A LARGE AMOUNT OF FILES)
PLEASE REMEMBER TO USE YOUR OPERATING SYSTEM'S DISK CLEANUP AND DISK DEFRAGMENTER.


CWSHREDDER :

"CWShredder™ finds and destroys traces of CoolWebSearch. CoolWebSearch is a name given to a wide range of different browser hijackers. Though the code is very different between variants, they are all used to redirect users to coolwebsearch.com and other sites affiliated with its operators."

http://www.intermute.com/spysubtract/cwshredder_download.html



Internet Explorer 7


all about Internet Explorer 7
See it in action

Take a tour of the new features and improvements in Internet Explorer 7. more
Feature review

Get a quick overview of all the features in Internet Explorer 7. more
View the system requirements

Make sure your PC has the minimum requirements needed to run Internet Explorer 7. more
Lighter side of Internet Explorer 7

Check out the improvements made in reliability, compatibility, user features, and security. more

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/default.mspx#ie7Downloads">

Jet Audio:

This a great all in one free audio player.

Supports All Major File Formats
Audio CD burning
Recording
Tag Editing
Multi-channel sound ouput
Crossfade
Skin
Subtitles
Internet CD Database
Convenient album management & Playlist
Utilities
Conversion
Audio CD Ripping
Internet Broadcasting
Various sound effects
Speed Control
Resume
Synchronized Lyric (Karaoke)
Alarm & Timer
Equalizer
Superb Crystal-Clear Sound

http://www.cowonamerica.com/download/index.html


7-ZIP (Compression Utility)

The main features of 7-Zip:

High compression ratio in new 7z format with LZMA compression
7-Zip is free software distributed under the GNU LGPL
Supported formats:
Packing / unpacking: 7z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2 and TAR
Unpacking only: RAR, CAB, ARJ, LZH, CHM, Z, CPIO, RPM and DEB
For ZIP and GZIP formats 7-Zip provides compression ratio that is 2-10 % better than ratio provided by PKZip and WinZip
Self-extracting capability for 7z format
Integration with Windows Shell
Powerful File Manager
It also Encrypts and disk Spans for Backups
Powerful command line version
Plugin for FAR Manager
Localizations for 60 languages

www.7zip.org


OpenOffice - A Free and just as good if not better office suite

OpenOffice.org is a multiplatform and multilingual office suite and an open-source project. Compatible with all other major office suites, the product is free to download, use, and distribute.

Compatible with Microsoft's Word and Excel documents also.

http://www.openoffice.org/


Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool
Brief Description
This tool checks your computer for infection by specific, prevalent malicious software (including Blaster, Sasser, and Mydoom) and helps to remove the infection if it is found. Microsoft will release an updated version of this tool on the second Tuesday of each month.

If you use the above (Lexun Drvcare Vista) you'll have to occassionally have to update this file also for virus cleans. It also Can be run independently.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=AD724AE0-E72D-4F54-9AB3-75B8EB148356&displaylang=en


µTorrent

µTorrent is an efficient and feature rich BitTorrent client for Windows sporting a very small footprint. It was designed to use as little cpu, memory and space as possible while offering all the functionality expected from advanced clients.
With BitTorrent, you can download files faster and contribute by sharing files and bandwidth.
Most Freeware Software is now starting to be distributed with Bit torrent networks now. Give it a Try! Great for large Linux distros that are 50mb to 700mb big or bigger.

At a glance:
Multiple simultaneous downloads
Smart bandwidth usage
File level priorities
Configurable bandwidth scheduling
Global and per-torrent speed limiting
Quickly resumes interrupted transfers
UPnP support (WinXP only)
RSS Broadcatching
Supports popular protocol extensions
Trackerless support (Mainline DHT)
Localized to different languages
Typical memory use less than 6 MB
Incredibly small: 130 KB

http://www.utorrent.com/


Power Defragmenter

Power Defragmenter is based on Sysinternals defragmentation "engine".
Basically its just a very advanced GUI for the Sysinternals core application which takes defragmentation process to a whole new level.
Very high defragmentation speed, efficiency and ease of use.
Such high speed is only available with Sysinternals defragmentation "engine".

http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Hard-Disk-Utils/Power-Defragmenter.shtml


EASY CLEANER

Very nice interface!
Finds invalid registry entries ----> deleting them speeds up your computer!
Finds duplicate files ----> deleting them will free disk space!
Finds all unnecessary files like backups, temps etc. ----> deleting them will free disk space!
Finds all invalid shortcuts ----> deleting them will free disk space and increase usability!
Manage programs starting at Windows startup! ----> who knows, you might even catch a virus before it gets serious!
Manage Windows add/remove software listing!
Easily remove Internet Explorer's temporary Internet files, history and cookies!
Very user friendly!
Shows some interesting info about your disk space usage.
Very customizable.
Multi-language support!
Uses only little amount of recources while running!
Huge help file which gives you every little detail about EasyCleaner!
And much more...

http://personal.inet.fi/business/toniarts/ecleane.htm

SYNCBACK
Easily backup, synchronize, or restore your files to another drive, FTP server, ZIP file, networked drive, or removable media. Highly configurable, SyncBack includes: detailed and easy to read log files; email results; simulated backups and restore; file filters; sub-directory selection; copy verification; background backups; auto-close of programs; easy and expert modes; profile groups; compare files, and an extensive context sensitive help file.

You can download the freeware version here at this page:
http://www.2brightsparks.com/downloads.html

AM-DEADLINK

AM-DeadLink detects dead links and duplicates in your Browser Bookmarks. If a Bookmark has become unavailable you can verify it in the internal preview and delete it from your Browser. Additionally you can download FavIcons for all your Favorites and Bookmarks.

AM-Deadlink works with Internet Explorer, Opera, Mozilla and Firefox.

AM-DeadLink is Freeware!

http://aignes.com/deadlink.htm

SWITCH OFF -

Features:
Scheduled and immediate options for:
Shutdown / Restart computer
Log-off user
Lock WorkStation
Disconnect dialup connection
Standby / Hibernate (power saving options)
Fast restart (Windows 95/98)
Customizeable Web interface (mini HTTP server)
WAP protocol support.
Simple intuitive multi-language interface
Can work everytime when windows is running, even at logon screen.
Command line support (including timer setings)
Silent install option (good for run in a batch scripts)
Works on all 32-bit versions of Windows (9x/NT/2000/XP)
Tiny size and system resource requirements

http://www.download.com/Switch-Off/3000-2344_4-10154101.html?tag=lst-0-1

HDCLEANER -
Clean all the junk files quickly and safely !
HDCleaner is the easiest and most comprehensive way to keep your PC running smooth and error free. There may be many junk files in your hard disk when your computer is running. They would make the computer system work slowly and astatically. HDCleaner uses a highly intelligent engine to scan your hard disk & improve PC performance!.You needn't know about the system and file types. Only click your mouse,it will clean all the junk files quickly and safely. It is designed for all windows. It protects your privacy by removing all the unwanted traces in your system. It safely removes Web cookies, Web history, recent documents history, any hidden user traces and more with just a click. System Cleaner and Optimizer: It removes junk and obsolete files from your system and frees valuable system space. System Files Backup and Restore: It lets back up your files and restore it in case of System Failure. Registry Cleaner and Optimizer: Enhanced regclean or regcleaner in short. It cleans the Windows Database Registry for invalid information such Invalid Fonts, shortcuts to files.....

HDCleaner implements the US Department of Defense and NSA clearing and sanitizing standard, which gives you confidence that once deleted with HDCleaner, your file data is gone forever and can not be recovered.

HDCleaner also identifies garbage files on the HDD of the network computers." Careful with that option, folks.

http://home.tiscali.de/zdata/hdcleaner_e.htm

GROUPER


Share Publicly with the World
Share your video and photos in Grouper's Public Directory and watch the # of views and popularity soar!

Share Privately with Friends and Family
Share personal video and photos with the people you choose in your own private group(s).

Make Your Own Video with Groovie
Remix your memories -- it's a snap. Pick video clips, photos, a soundtrack and voila you've got a Groovie.
Download Video for your iPod
Create a personalized Podcast and download to your iPod or Playstation Portable.

Easy, Seamless Video Sharing
Easy, Fast and FREE! Get video and photos from your digital camera to your PC to with your friends, family or the world.

Unlimited: Uploads and Downloads
Upload and share as much as you want. Browse tons of video and download as much as you want.

http://www.grouper.com/

LOGMEIN FREE

Access & Control Your PC from Anywhere - FREE.
Millions of users agree: LogMeIn is the fastest, easiest, most secure remote access solution available - 100% FREE. If you use a computer, why wouldn’t you have LogMeIn?
» Run programs & access your files anytime
» Check email from anywhere
» Access your home PC from the office
» 100% FREE to use!

https://secure.logmein.com/go.asp?page=products_free

ADOBE READER

* Up to 50% faster launch time than version 6.0
* Ability to view, rotate, annotate, and measure 3D content embedded within PDF
documents that are created with Adobe Acrobat 3D software
* Ability to search for Internet content from within Adobe Reader
* New extended Central European font pack
* Capability to download digital editions to Adobe Reader for Pocket PC
* Hebrew, Arabic, Thai, and Vietnamese text input support
* Windows Server 2003 and Windows NT (limited) support
* Mac OS X (Tiger) support
* Netscape 8, Firefox, and Mozilla 1.7 support (Windows only)
* Better forms handling
* Improved security


http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html


PANDO

Introducing a little app with a lot of muscle.

Pando lets you send your home videos, giant presentations and entire folders of original quality photos to anyone with an email address. See how...

No adware, no spyware ... no, really.

http://www.pando.com

PANDO (Yahoo Messenger Plugin)

NEW: Pando Plug-In for Yahoo! Messenger
Pando Networks proudly presents a mini version of Pando to be used exclusively with your Yahoo! Messenger contact list. Wait, you say, I can already send files with Yahoo! Messenger! Yes. But with Pando:

* You can send both files and folders. Experience the ecstasy of folder IM.
* Send up to 1GB even better. Gigantic files take time. Transfer them faster with Pando.
* Forget firewalls. Pando helps friends send to friends behind firewalls.
* Send to multiple contacts at once. Without Pando, it's one upload to one contact at a time.
* Fast forwards. Forward Pando files you've received with one click - no need to reupload anything.
* Pause and resume your transfers.
* Hot content, high quality. Every week we’ll post top virals from our esteemed partners Buzznet, YouAreTV, and blip.tv for you to enjoy and share.

http://www.pando.com/ympp

YAHOO MESSENGER


Get the latest and greatest
Yahoo! Messenger with Voice Beta (version 8)

* Enjoy the best IM experience on the net
* Free PC-to-PC calls* — ring regular phones for
dirt cheap
* Personalize Messenger with fun plug-ins
* Listen to free Yahoo! Music LAUNCHcast radio
* See what else is new

http://messenger.yahoo.com/

YAHOO MUSIC ENGINE

Create and share music playlists with friends*
Free LAUNCHcast Radio
Buy music downloads - over 1 million song catalog
Play, Rip & Burn MP3s and CDs
Access Yahoo! Music Unlimited**

http://music.yahoo.com/musicengine/


GSPLIT

This application is a free original file splitter that lets you split your large files (like Self-Extracting, Zip archives, multimedia, song, music, movie, backup, picture, archive, document files...) into a set of smaller files called pieces.

These pieces are easier to:

*copy to floppies or any removable media.
*distribute over the Internet, networks or through email (forget attached file
size restrictions imposed by some ISP's and email servers).
*share with friends, colleagues or other users through networks and the Internet.
*archive to Zip disk, CD, DVD, USB Flash drive and key, and any other storage
support.
*Upload to host accounts, file delivery services... that have restrictions on
file sizes.

http://www.gdgsoft.com/gsplit/


IMGBURN

ImgBurn can write most types of CD / DVD images and it supports all the latest writers (including booktype / bitsetting on many of the major ones - i.e. BenQ, LiteOn, NEC, Plextor, Sony). You can even use ImgBurn to erase / format your rewritable media!

ImgBurn will try its very best to burn your DVD-Video double layer images using the layer break you've specified in the IFO files, but it can also calculate the best place for you, to save you the trouble.

Advanced functionality can be found in context menus that appear when you right click on various bits of the user interface. Can you find them all??!!


http://www.imgburn.com/


JAVA

Java technology is everywhere

From the Mars Rover all the way to your mobile phone, Java technology is changing the world around us, and beyond. It's used in practically every major industry, from education, government, and space exploration to transportation, finance, telecommunications, and more. It enables applications and products of all kinds to do something unique and incredible: Communicate. Integrate. Animate. Interact. Protect. Find out how Java technology is making a difference virtually everywhere!

http://java.com/en/

Foxit Reader

Foxit Reader is small (the download is less than 1MB), so it downloads quickly. It doesn't need any installation, so you can start to run it as soon as you've downloaded it.

And It starts up immediately, so you don't need to wait for an annoying "Welcome" screen to disappear.

Foxit Reader is extremely easy to use, just double click it to start and then click open button to open your PDF document. If you want to print, click on "Print" button. If you want to change the page layout for printing, select "Print Setup" from "File" menu.


http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php


VLC media player

VLC - the cross-platform media player and streaming server

VLC media player is a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX/Xvid, mp3, ogg, ...) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. It can also be used as a server to stream in unicast or multicast in IPv4 or IPv6 on a high-bandwidth network.

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/


BITWISE

Encrypted Cross-Platform Instant Messaging
for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux

Text, Files Transfers, Whiteboards, Voice & more

Use BitWise to protect yourself from IM-based attacks

BitWise IM Personal
Free, ad-free IM for home/personal use

BitWise IM Plus
Identity verification and stronger encryption

BitWise IM Professional
Private, internal IM for business/education use

http://www.bitwiseim.com/


Naomi

Naomi is able to constantly monitor all internet connections, protecting children from inappropriate online material - such as obscene or violent contents; pornography, pedophilia and erotism in the form of images or texts; sites that popularize drugs; gambling games; terrorism; hate propaganda; occultism; sects; blasphemy, etc.

Naomi does not rely on a simple list of banned sites; instead, it examines in real-time all the data being transmitted and received through any internet application - such as web browers, chat programs, news readers, etc.

The filtering technology employed in Naomi features:

* Heuristic analysis capable of recognizing new material automatically.
* Semantic analysis of web pages contents and analysis of their addresses and links.
* Recognizes all the major languages (10+).
* Recognizes ICRA labelling system.
* Monitoring is not limited to web sites, but covers the whole local internet traffic.
* Works with all service providers and software applications, and does not alter settings.
* Allows blocking of file-sharing applications.
* Password-protected (the password is chosen during the installation).
* Easy to use: does not require configuration.
* Can be used on slow connections (it does not perform any download in background).


http://www.radiance.m6.net/



GTALK

Google Talk offers:

* Flexibility: Get in touch with an IM, email, or a call

* Quality: Enjoy fast file transfer and high quality voice calls

* Convenience: Reach all your Google Talk contacts, with just a click

Orkut integration
Google Talk makes it easier than ever to chat with more of your friends. If you use orkut, Google's free social networking service, you can chat or place Internet phone calls with your orkut friends using Google Talk. orkut friends will automatically appear in your Friends list, and you'll find out instantly if you've received a new orkut scrap.



Offline Messages
Now if your friends have chat history enabled, you can send them messages even when they're not online. Just enter a message into the chat window as you would normally, and they'll get it the next time they sign into Google Talk. In Gmail, offline messages can be searched and organized -- just like instant messages in their chat history.



File Transfer
With this top requested new feature, you can send unlimited files and folders to your friends through Google Talk. There is no restriction on the file type or size and the peer-to-peer transfer is fast and reliable.


Voicemail
If your friends aren't around to answer your call, you can leave them a voicemail message instead. Just record your voice after the "Meep" and your friends will get an email to their Talk contact address with the voicemail attached as an audio file. They can play your message when they check their email and save it for as long as they want.


Music Status and Music Trends
Listening to music while chatting on Google Talk? Now you can let your friends see what you're listening to by selecting "Show current music track" in your status menu. Your status message will change when your song does!

You can also choose to contribute your music tastes to Google Music Trends, and check out what Google Talk users are listening to across the world.


http://www.google.com/talk/