Trend Micro HijackThis 2.0.2

Reviewed by: CNET Staff

If persistent spyware is bogging down your computer, you might need HijackThis. The tiny program examines vulnerable or suspect parts of your system, such as browser helper objects and certain types of Registry keys. Pressing the Scan button generates a log of dozens of items, most of which are just customizations. Don't check off an item and hit the Fix Checked button unless you're sure it's malware. Clicking Info on Selected Item tells you why the entry was flagged as suspicious, but not whether it's actually malware. To find that out, search the Web for that item's name or go straight to a forum, such as SpywareInfo or Computer Cops. Saving the log creates a text document you can post to these forums.

The latest version adds powerful tools to the Config window. The process manager and hosts file editor help you excise virulent infections. The unique ADS Spy tool scans for alternate data streams, which some browser hijackers use to hide from spyware removers. The program still installs into whatever directory in which you unzip the file, which can make it hard to locate. HijackThis is a serious tool for any user who needs to root out a serious infestation, but wield it with caution.

Download Now (793.3K)

Foxit PDF Editor 2.1 Build 0702

Reviewed by: CNET Staff

This program is a handy editor for PDF files. There is no installation; once you click the EXE file, PDF Editor opens on your desktop. After opening a PDF file, you quickly see how easy the software is to use. You simply click any part of a document, and the automatically selected line appears below the document. Then you configure the text, color, stroke color, transformation, or form. The program also allows you to add virtually any text or image object. Moreover, it displays all the current settings of the line or object, which is convenient for further configuration. This program will be useful for any person needing to customize anything in a PDF file.

Publisher's description

From Foxit Software :

With Foxit PDF Editor, you can open a PDF file, create a brand-new file, add or remove pages, change anything, and save. All graphic details will be retained with no quality loss. You can select, modify, delete, and insert text, images, or graphic objects. Like any real editor, Foxit PDF Editor supports features such as single or group selection, copy and paste, and undo and redo. You can see your changes immediately. Foxit PDF Editor is an independent application, so you don't need to install any other software (not even Acrobat Reader). It's compact and easy to use.

Version 2.1 includes Shading Object Support, Converting Text of Path, Adding Shapes in Non-Graphics Editing Mode, Removing all evaluation marks at once, and Alignment Support.

Download Now (3.32MB)

Picasa 3.1 build 71.43

This photo organizer strikes us as the picture of simplicity, a hairy task considering that Picasa 3 stacks on over a dozen more features and refinements to improve the editing, creative, and sharing options onto what has for years been a solid consumer app. Although not the most powerful image manager on the block, Picasa has the distinction of being the most easygoing.

Picasa's editing tools now include a retoucher to cover over blemishes and an improved red-eye corrector that detects and fixes all orbs emitting a magenta glow, with fairly good results.

Picasa really shines when it comes to organizing, uploading, and sharing pictures. New syncing and sharing buttons on the album level let you keep folders up-to-date on your Picasa Web album without leaving the desktop app. The same goes with its neighboring 'Share' button, which uploads photos online and e-mails your contacts the link from Picasa's interface.

The latest version also greatly improves the collage tool and adds a basic movie maker that lets you intersperse a wide range of video with stills. Though we love the concept, the bare-bones tool needs work, and greater choice of outputs--right now it only churns out WMV files. One other caveat: Picasa eats a lot of memory, so be wary of a performance drag, oh ye of modest memory. In every other respect, this free photo editor and organizer program is an excellent choice for amateur shutterbugs with plenty of photos to share.

Download Now (9.59MB)