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Essential Software Iain Laskey argues that there is some software you simply can’t do without. There are certain programs that in our experience, you simply can’t do without. Until you have installed and used them, their value and importance may not be as obvious as it could be. Here are some of the programs you really need to get and why you need to get them. ZoneAlarm Firewall If you ever connect to the internet, you need a firewall. Even on a phone connection, it’s an absolute must-have. There have been countless virus and trojan scares in recent months. Many of these would be stopped dead in their tracks by a firewall. Put simply, a firewall inspects every byte of information going in and out of your computer. It looks for any suspicious or unauthorised activity and if it detects anything, it stops it going any further. As well as stopping intrusions from getting in, it can also stop any rogue programs you have picked up from getting out and passing on their payload. Our favourite is the extremely popular ZoneAlarm. For home use, this is a free download and can be obtained by going to www.zonelabs.com. Unlike some of its peers, ZoneAlarm is easy to set up and easy to use. Any time a program tries to access the Internet, ZoneAlarm stops it and asks for your permission. You can choose to allow it only on that occasion or at any time. Once you’ve ‘trained’ it, it works silently in the background keeping everything under control. For more advanced users, there is ZoneAlarm Pro which can be downloaded for $49.94 but adds some useful extras such as control over any information you don’t want broadcast and finer control over protocols, networks and other more arcane aspects. If you play a lot of online games, the Pro version will probably pay dividends in safety and ability to get games working properly. AVG Anti-virus Another essential program is an anti-virus program. Just as important and installing an anti-virus program is keeping it up to date. If you use a modem, update it weekly. If you’re on broadband, update it daily. Whenever you read in the news about so many millions of people being infected by a new virus, it is purely because they either have no anti-virus program or have never bothered to keep the one they have up to date. Don’t be a statistic. One of the better ones is the AVG anti-virus which can be downloaded from www.grisoft.com. As well as being a good program with a deserved reputation for catching all viruses, it is also free. Like ZoneAlarm, a more feature rich version can be purchased and downloaded for $33.30. Google Toolbar Let’s me honest, Google now rules the roost when it comes to searching for information on the web. Everyone else is an also-ran. Google have kindly developed an add-on for Internet Explorer that you can download for free. This provided a box for searching Google at anytime without having to go to the Google web site first. It also keeps most pop-ups at bay making life much more pleasant when web browsing. There is nothing more annoying than having adverts (or worse!) appearing all over your screen when you visit a web site. You can get Google Toolbar from toolbar.google.com. For good measure, it also highlights searchable terms in web pages and will help fill in online forms. Nice! Adobe Acrobat Reader It’s likely you have this anyway but if not, you can get it from www.adobe.com. Almost all program manuals come in Adobe Acrobat format. This provides a way to see documents complete with complex layouts, images and fonts without having to own any special programs like Microsoft Word. As well as manuals, lots of Acrobat documents exist on web sites either as downloads or just as pages you can read online. Happily, the reader is free and once installed works seamlessly within your browser and can also be used to read documents on your local hard drive. AdAware Even if you have a firewall and an antivirus program, there are still ways certain types of information about you can be leached from your machine. These are often used to target you with adverts when online. AdAware looks for anything a web site has put on your machine to help companies achieve this and will allow you to delete anything you find. The standard version is free for home use and can be downloaded from www.lavasoftusa.com. Make sure you run it regularly for it to be effective. Alternatively, you can pay for the full version which costs a mere $26.95. This version will pro-actively monitor your machine to ensure anything is found as soon as it arrives. MSGTAG We recently reviewed this and you can see what we said here. MSGTAG puts a hidden tag on your emails which allow you to find out when (or if) the recipient reads it. This is great if you are trying to arrange a night out or do a lot of buying/selling online and need to be sure people have been contacted. There are three versions of MSGTAG with prices ranging from free through to $59.95. See the review for details then make your choice of downloads at www.msgtag.com/products. Conclusion There are lots of great programs out there that can make life easier for any PC user. Most are free but even the ones that cost money are bargain priced right now with the weak dollar working very much in the favour of those who live in the UK.
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