The most recent Download Reviews from Incisive Media

Comodo Firewall + Antivirus 3.10

Chris Wiles — 2009-07-04T15:04:00.000Z

Chris Wiles, vnunet.com, Saturday 4 July 2009 at 15:04:00

Give your PC additional protection with this free security suite

Buy a new PC and you’ll often find it ships pre-installed with an anti-virus client. Sometimes you receive more than basic anti-virus support, but the first thing you need to do is go out and find more extensive security software to make sure your new machine is protected against every possible threat.

For this reason, various security developers have resorted to giving away more extensive free software. By combining anti-virus, anti-spyware and a firewall, Comodo have bundled a few of their free applications and published these as an ‘Internet Security’ bundle.

Comodo Internet Security is a free suite of security tools designed to protect you against the majority of threats you may encounter when you surf the Internet.

This basic Internet Security suite gives you widespread protection, but Comodo also publish a Professional version with additional features such as remote access for removing threats that have infected your PC and have stopped you being able to boot in to your PC.

The latest v3.10 now gives you access to the Comodo DNS service, improved support for Windows Security Center and more.

Note that there is a 64-bit version of Comodo Internet Security. The download here is the 32-bit edition.

Nokia PC Suite 7.1.30

Tim Smith — 2009-07-04T00:00:00.000Z

Tim Smith, Computeractive, Saturday 4 July 2009 at 00:00:00

Make the most of your phone

It doesn't take long to realise that most modern mobile phones are capable of far more than simply making calls.

One way to get the most from a phone is to connect it to a computer to syncronise contacts or transfer media.

The Nokia PC Suite covers all of these tasks. It may have been supplied with the phone but it is worth checking whether a new version has been made available since.

A full list of all the phones compatible with PC Suite can be found on the Nokia website.

The phone can be connected if one is available or with Bluetooth or Infrared. The latter two are more likely as the cables are not always supplied and have the convenience of wireless.

Once installed the PC Suite can be used to backup all of the information on the phone in case of accidents and to install new software. Downloading software to a computer and then installing with PC Suite avoids data charges for the transfer.

Contacts and calendar items can be syncronise with Outlook as well as emails. You can even send text messages from the computer if the phone is connected.

It's not all work as the Suite can also be used to transfer images and music between the computer and the phone. The Nokia Lifeblog helps to keep photos and music up to date on both devices.

Free Windows Registry Repair 2.0

Chris Wiles — 2009-07-04T00:00:00.000Z

Chris Wiles, V3.co.uk, Saturday 4 July 2009 at 00:00:00

Fix your problematic Registry

This is the software publisher's description.

After a while, almost all Windows users experience a downfall in their PC’s performance. Much of it can be attributed to Windows Registry Errors. By using Free Window Registry Repair regularly and repairing your Registry your system should not only be more stable but it will also help Windows run faster. For your convenience it automatically backup any repairs made so that you always can restore Windows Registry to the original state.

The Registry is a heart and soul of any Windows system. It contains information that controls how your system appears and how it behaves. Almost all Windows users gradually experiences the downfall in their PC's performance. Much of it can be attributed to Windows Registry Errors.

By using Free Window Registry Repair regularly and repairing your Registry your system should not only be more stable but it will also help Windows run faster. Within few minutes and fewer mouse clicks, you can easily attain maximum optimization of your windows Registry with Free Window Registry Repair. It will scan your complete Registry and fix the Registry problems.

For your convenience and for insuring maximum protection Free Window Registry Repair automatically backup any repairs made. So you always can restore Windows Registry to the original state using restore button.

Read It Later 0.99.46

Chris Wiles — 2009-07-03T16:11:00.000Z

Chris Wiles, vnunet.com, Friday 3 July 2009 at 16:11:00

Save external browser links for later

Browse a web page and you’ll find various links and external pages that link to other sites. The problem is that, during a working day, we don’t have the time to visit the other sites, external pages or read other information. However, we also don’t want to lose these links and might want to browse them at a later date.

Read It Later is a Firefox add-on that will enable you to browse the web (using Firefox) and simply add links, external pages and more, then build up a database of links that you can refer to, at a later date.

You can add the links by using a button on your Firefox toolbar or by right-clicking and adding using your right mouse button menu. Better still, if you use Foxmarks or Google Browser Sync, these tools will automatically sync these saved links to another Firefox, so you could browse at home.

Note that this extension now works with Firefox 3.

FBackup 4.2.144

Chris Wiles — 2009-07-03T16:06:00.000Z

Chris Wiles, vnunet.com, Friday 3 July 2009 at 16:06:00

Quickly backup or restore your important files

Many of us own more than one computer, but unless they are connected to a network, moving files from one machine to another is laborious. We advocate synchronisation tools such as Sugarsync or Dropbox, which enable you to synchronise your favourite and most important files across multiple machines, irrespective of operating system. Snag is, if you have a slow broadband connection, or need to move across large movie files, synchronisation is going to take way too long to migrate your files.

The other option is to backup your data to a removable drive then connect that drive to another machine and restore the content. Of course, if you have a system problem in the future, you can simply restore the content back to the host computer.

FBackup is a free backup tool from the makers of Backup4All that offers you basic backup for your Windows computer. It ships with some pre-defined templates, so you can backup your email, My Pictures, My Documents and other key folders. The tool will enable you to backup to a connected drive, removable flash drive or even across your network.

You can use ZIP compression to get the most from your storage location. You can even use it to backup your most important files, even if they are open and in use by an application. All in all, it’s a simplistic tool designed to make sure you backup your files, quickly and easily with the minimum of fuss.

Avira AntiVir Rescue System 07/2009

Chris Wiles — 2009-07-03T15:44:00.000Z

Chris Wiles, vnunet.com, Friday 3 July 2009 at 15:44:00

Build yourself a system rescue disc

Despite implementing the latest anti-spyware or anti-virus tool, you’re only as good as your latest definition update. Should a virus go live and you’re one of the first to receive the bad file, this may result in system chaos - unable to boot in to your machine, access files and more.

The solution is to build yourself a rescue disc that you can use to boot in to your computer, if you experience issues in the future. Of course, you don’t need to have this rescue CD on disc just ‘in case’, you could borrow someone else’s computer, download the latest version and burn this to disc.

Avira AntiVir Rescue CD is such as tool. It’s a self-contained Linux-based operating system with components required to scan, salvage and recover your system and/or individual files. If you can’t boot in to your computer, this is ideal.

Note that the Rescue CD is updated frequently by Avira, so it always contains the latest definition updates.

Airfoil for Mac 3.3.1

Lee Collins — 2009-07-03T15:39:00.000Z

Lee Collins, V3.co.uk, Friday 3 July 2009 at 15:39:00

Stream audio to different locations within your home

Your computer speakers are not the best method for listening to your music. You could burn your tracks to CD and then play through your Hi-Fi, but the snag is that you need access to your remote control, have to get up and change CDs and your limited to playing the tracks on the CD in your system.

Another idea would be to stream the tracks from your computer to remote speakers. You can do this through Apple iTunes, provided you have an Airport Express connected to the remote speakers. These speakers could be connected to your Hi-FI, to your TV or simply connected directly to the Airport Express. With this system, you can then choose the tracks you want to play through your speakers, without leaving your computer.

Airfoil is a software system that works in conjunction with Airport Express to enable you to listen to any audio source on your computer. This could be Windows Media Player, RealPlayer or any software that plays audio. Airfoil simply redirects the audio via your remote speakers, rather than through your computer.

FileZilla for Mac 3.2.6.1

Lee Collins — 2009-07-03T15:34:00.000Z

Lee Collins, V3.co.uk, Friday 3 July 2009 at 15:34:00

Transfer files across the Internet

Ask most users what applications they’ll use to access the Internet and they’ll instantly mention a web browser and an email client. They might mention that they use a chat client, but would be pushed hard to think of another client.

Strange, as only a few years ago the primary application used to be an FTP client. Indeed, you never saw a complete Internet pack without a browser, email client, FTP tool and ICQ chat client. An FTP client will enable you to download files from the Internet much more quickly and you can resume files that have stopped downloading.

However, an FTP client is much more useful for uploading files, administering a server, a remote website or your homepage. You can quickly login to just about any website, with the correct username and password, then upload files, add folders, move around files and change around the site structure.

FTP software is very similar to using Windows Explorer, although you’d be working with two windows rather than the single pane.

Note that this is the Mac version.

Gdocbackup

Tim Smith — 2009-07-03T11:19:00.000Z

Tim Smith, Computeractive, Friday 3 July 2009 at 11:19:00

Keep a local copy of your Google Docs files

Google Docs is a great online service but there are good reasons for keeping copies of your work on a computer. It means you can access them if you are not connected to the internet and it keeps them safe if there were to be any problems with the Google Docs service.

Gdocbackup is a utility that does this for you, is easy to use and gives you the choice of what format to save them in.

There's no requirement to save your password if you're worried about security, though this is possible. The backup folder must be set by hand as well.

The utility defaults to saving the documents, spreadsheets and presentations in the Microsoft Office formats. This makes sense from a compatibility point of view and it is possible to change the file format to the Openoffice formats among others.

The interface is a little basic but it does show the progress of the backup and a list of the files that have been saved. Hopefully this will be improved in future versions.

Even so, the interface doesn't stop this from being a very useful utility. If you want to keep a local copy of your Google Docs, and you should, this is the easiest way to do it.

XnView 1.96.2

Tim Smith — 2009-07-03T00:00:00.000Z

Tim Smith, Computeractive, Friday 3 July 2009 at 00:00:00

Convert images to another format

There is a huge number of different image formats and it is very frustrating to receive an image that cannot be opened.

XnView can view around 400 different kinds of image and convert into 50 different formats. It is a good way of browsing images on a computer with a capable explorer window that can show previews of images if required.

It is not just formats that can be changed as XnView can be used to rename batches of images.

XnView is also available for a wide range of operating systems apart from Windows, including MacOS X and Linux. A full list is on the XnView website

REAPER 3.05

Lee Collins/Tim Smith — 2009-07-03T00:00:00.000Z

Lee Collins/Tim Smith, vnunet.com, Friday 3 July 2009 at 00:00:00

Powerful music editor and mixer

Computers can perform the sort of audio recording and editing that used to require very expensive studio time. That said, many of the high-end audio programs (or DAWs – digital audio workstations) are also very expensive. Not so in the case of Reaper.

This download of Reaper is a 30-day trial but the publishers rely on your honesty to buy a full licence if you wish to keep on using it as the only restriction is a reminder pop-up window after this period has ended. Even so, the cost is very reasonable at $50 for a non-commercial licence or $225 for a commercial licence.

The limitations of Reaper are based on the capabilities of the computer rather than an arbitrary track limit for MIDI or Audio recordings. The interface is in a traditional format with tracks arranged in rows in the top half of the screen with a mixing console at the bottom for setting the volume of individual tracks.

Audio and MIDI can be recorded or imported as simply as dragging and dropping a file into a track. It can then be edited in various ways such as timestretching or pitch correction.

There is a wide selection of effects that can be applied to tracks included with Reaper. It is compatible with all the main standards for plug in effects and virtual instruments including VST, VSTi, DX, DXi and JS. Reaper also supports sidechaining, a method of varying an effect based on another track. This is very common in dance music and offers some exciting creative possibilities.

All in all, this is a very good DAW, especially for beginners as it offers lots of features at a low price.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010 v9.0.0.459

Paul Rowlingson — 2009-07-03T00:00:00.000Z

Paul Rowlingson, vnunet.com, Friday 3 July 2009 at 00:00:00

Get 30% off the popular anti-virus client

Kaspersky Anti-Virus is specifically designed for home users to protect their computers from attack.

You have full control over all the possible sources of virus infection, including the internet, disks, archived and compressed files and, of course, email.

Kaspersky's protection is thorough, tackling viruses, Trojans, internet worms, dangerous Java applets and Active X. Like all antivirus software, should a virus be found, its effects are neutralised immediately.

The beauty of Kaspersky Anti-Virus is that, unlike most antivirus software, this program is automatically updated daily via the internet to ensure that a high level of protection is maintained.

Combine this with an excellent support service and guaranteed preparation of emergency treatment modules, and you have complete protection.

Other features include SafeStream technology for faster scanning, the facility to scan files that have been created or modified since the last scan and an improved user interface.

Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 v9.0.0.459

Tim Smith — 2009-07-03T00:00:00.000Z

Tim Smith, Computeractive, Friday 3 July 2009 at 00:00:00

Get the latest security suite and save 30%

Kaspersky Internet Security is the latest in the line of software packages offering full protection in one place.

The antivirus component checks all emails as they arrive on the computer with special plug ins for Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express. Internet traffic is also checked and malicious software prevented from running on the computer.

The firewall stops anyone from accessing your computer from the internet whether that is to steal personal information or automated software that is running without permission. It will check with the user when the computer is connected to a network (internet or home for example) to set the correct security level.

Dial up users are protected from premium rate number diallers that attempt to change the telephone number used to connect to the internet.

Personal information is kept safe as Kaspersky prevents confidential material from being stolen. Spam is also blocked to help save time.

VistaTask 7.60

Chris Wiles — 2009-07-03T00:00:00.000Z

Chris Wiles, vnunet.com, Friday 3 July 2009 at 00:00:00

Automate every aspect of Windows

This is the software publisher’s description.

Automation tool for Microsoft Windows. It can control every aspect of your computer, such as the mouse, keyboard, and web actions, without needing to write any programming code. VistaTask is useful for performing many different types of jobs on your computer, and provides significant productivity gains in areas such as software quality assurance testing, IT administration jobs, repetitive data entry, or recurring internet tasks. It offers easy Windows automation, while still providing advanced features such as data-driven scripts, image masking, and an EXE compiler. Best of all, these powerful features are accessible through VistaTask's simple and clear XML files.

Current software automation tools are too complex, and definitely too expensive. It shouldn't be necessary to learn a new programming script language just to automate a basic task or test software. It takes fewer steps and less time to create new automation jobs in VistaTask than in any competing product.

IObit SmartDefrag 1.20

Chris Wiles — 2009-07-03T00:00:00.000Z

Chris Wiles, vnunet.com, Friday 3 July 2009 at 00:00:00

Defragment your hard drive

When you purchase your new PC, it seems like a speed daemon. You wonder why it’s so fast. Does that new Core 2 Duo processor really make so much of a difference? Surely the new graphics card can’t make applications launch more quickly or your hard drive enable your system to boot more swiftly?

Well, yes, they do improve the speed of your system, but it’s the fact that you’ve installed Windows on a brand new hard drive that really makes the difference. You’d probably find, that after using your old PC for a year, that if you installed Windows from scratch, your system would be at least 25% quicker.

Part of the problem is down to the ongoing use of installing and removing software and moving files around your drive. The more you write/move files to and from your hard drive, the more your drive becomes fragmented. Parts of the files are located in different locations on your drive. When you drive then attempts to load an application or read a file, it takes a great deal longer as the drive has to access files from all over your drive, rather than from one continuous block.

The answer is to defragment your drive. This will move files in to one continuous block and rearrange the space so that it ends up located in one big block of space. It means your files and applications launch much more quickly.

The downside is that you have to defragment your drive and this can take ages. If you have a huge hard drive, you might need to leave the process running overnight.

IObit SmartDefrag is a free defragging tool and worth investigating. It’s also rather fast. However, remember that when you defragment your drive that it’s advisable not to be running applications at the same time.