Reviewed by: Seth Rosenblatt on November 07, 2008

For those who like their customization in-house, the Avant Browser's latest update might appeal to you. Built on an IE-rendering engine, Avant takes off in a different direction--IE if it were being produced by a small firm instead of Microsoft.

The browser is sufficiently fast, preloaded with two dozen similar skins as well as tabbed browsing and modular toolbars that let you move around and hide the Status bar, Toolbar, Search window, and navigation controls. The Menu bar, though, is counterintuitively pinned to the upper-right corner, and icons for proprietary functions, such as an in-page search term highlighting toggle, aren't instantly comprehensible.

Avant can save personalized data online, making bookmarks and form content accessible from any machine. Around the same size as Firefox, Avant includes many features that are available to Firefox users only through plug-ins--such as automatic form fillers. The Full Screen view autohides all menu bars, a nice touch, but certain plug-ins--notably Flash--didn't work on Windows Vista.Avant is a good browser with some nice built-in features and interface-customization options, but the lack of extensibility and Vista problems don't help. We recommend it to users who want a Microsoft-based engine but think that Internet Explorer 7 is a pain

Advanced SystemCare Free 3.3.4

Reviewed by: Jason Parker on December 17, 2008

This utility offers a one-stop-shop for cleaning and maintaining your computer for better overall system performance. The interface is very simple, featuring only a few buttons, which makes it easy to get down to cleaning immediately (in fact, it automatically runs on start-up) and doesn't confuse you with multiple steps.

The Maintain Windows section focuses on four areas of maintenance: spyware removal, Registry cleaning, a privacy sweep, and deletion of junk files. The Diagnose System button provides system optimization tools, detects spyware, defragments your disk, and scans for hijacked Windows settings. In our tests the scan and clean for each of these areas took less than 10 minutes to complete. In many of these scans, it is difficult to tell what exactly is being accomplished by some of the tools, but we were able to test against other trusted apps, which confirmed Advanced SystemCare's efficacy in those areas.

Under the utilities section you are given several tools, which are similar to plug-ins, for other areas of optimization and diagnostic tests. Overall, Advanced SystemCare Free is a good way to maintain your system's speed and clear out junk files, but you'll need to remember to run it regularly because scheduling of scans is only available in the paid Pro version.

Watch the CNET video review of Advanced SystemCare Free:

Post-it Digital Notes 4.7

From: ifr

Post-it Digital Notes are easy, intuitive, and packed with features to get you organized. So you can make lists and reminders, key-code them with colors and photos, sort them by category, and set alarms to remind yourself of projects and appointments. Sort and search, add photos, and set alarms.

Version 4.7 may include unspecified updates, enhancements, or bug fixes.

CNET Editor's Note: The Download Now link will download a small installer file to your desktop. Remain online and double-click the installer to proceed with the actual (12.3MB) download

TeamViewer 4.1.6432

Reviewed by: Seth Rosenblatt on May 29, 2009

TeamViewer is an excellent screen-sharing and file-transfer app that can be used to facilitate business collaborations as well as helping distraught relatives diagnose and cure computer problems. Along with being free for noncorporate use, it gives users precisely the tools they need to share screens securely, send files with a minimum of hassle, control access rights, and even flip which user has control.

The options available while you're in control work smoothly. You can maximize the pane that the other computer's screen is visible in, as well as utilize several smart options from a drop-down toolbar in the center of the window. A big X lets you close the connection, while the Actions button lets you switch whose in control, disable remote input, and reboot remotely. The View menu hides options to adjust the screen resolution, the optimization toward speed or quality, and control multiple-monitor displays.

When you log in, you're given an access code and a password. Sharing those allows your computer to be controlled by the level you set it to: remote support, presentation, file transfer, or VPN. The TeamViewer servers remember which computers you've connected to, so reconnecting to previously shared computers happens faster. TeamViewer also has a Web-based version, for remote connecting to home from public computer. Even the installation process is impressive. Users can toggle admin rights, can opt out of running at startup, and can opt into installing the TeamViewer VPN driver for more secure screensharing. Overall, TeamViewer makes screensharing and file-sharing as fluid and unobtrusive as it should be

CopyTrans 3.25

From WindSolutions :

CopyTrans features include: Copy songs, videos, movies, TV shows, audiobooks and podcasts to computer. Repopulate iTunes library with all tracks and personal settings. Import artworks, ratings, play counts, date last played, podcast subscriptions to iTunes. Import iPod playlists directly to iTunes. Songs order in playlists is preserved. Transfer iPod tracks to the right iTunes categories. Organize songs into folders and sub-folders based on any data such as Title, Artist, Album. Rename song file names using extensive options. Compatible with all iPod models, iPod Touch, iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS included.

Version 3.25 improves sorting.