WinRAR (32-bit) 3.90

Reviewed by:Ahmodur Rahman

There are plenty of solid compression utilities to choose from, but this shareware powerhouse offers the features and ease of use that place it at the top of the compression category. WinRAR is easy to use, lightweight, and flexible.

An intuitive interface lets you mouse over icons to see their functions, and if you don't like their candy-coated appearance, you can always choose from several themes at the developer's site. The Folder Tree Panel makes sifting through your directories to find files easier than ever. But once you see the size savings of a RAR archive, with a compression ratio of 8 percent to 15 percent better than the ZIP format, you'll understand why so many users and developers are making the switch from other apps. With virus scans now integrated and minor interface tweaks for Vista, only the slightly slower decompression speed holds the app back.

Beyond its good looks and right-click readiness for basic compression and unzipping, WinRAR offers unpacking support for a large number of archive formats, including TAR, ACE, BZ2, JAR, ISO, and ZIP. WinRAR's advanced features are icing on the cake, with Unicode support for international formatting, embedded file comments, damaged archive repair, archive locking, self-extracting archives, and easy encryption. There's also the option to automatically delete temporary files and just-archived files. Anyone seeking an all-in-one archiving solution would be remiss to not check out WinRAR.

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Adobe Reader 9.1

Reviewed by: Belal

The new version of this indispensable product doesn't introduce revolutionary changes, but it doesn't have to. As the low-end PDF reader, it simply keeps up with Acrobat Professional and Standard. This release adds the ability to play back embedded multimedia files in MP3, QuickTime, Macromedia Flash, Real, and Windows Media formats, as well as to submit Adobe PDF forms. It also replaces some of the icons in the default interface with optional, dockable toolbars. You might as well install this now before a Web site you visit prompts you to download it, because
Adobe Reader lets you read and print from any system any document created as an Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) file, with its original appearance preserved. PDF files are compact and can be shared, viewed, navigated, and printed exactly as the author intended by anyone with Adobe Reader.
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ZoneAlarm 8.0.298

An effective and easy-to-use firewall program, ZoneAlarm does a great job of keeping your PC safe from a variety of threats. ZoneAlarm uses a simple wizard to make configuring a firewall, which seems like a daunting task to many computer users, incredibly easy.

Maintaining and updating settings also is a snap when you're using the stylish interface and its simple slider controls. The program's Zones feature allows you to assign different security levels for a local network and for the Internet.

A great recent addition is small but quite helpful. A new "Game Mode" lets you automatically allow or deny alerts when you're in the middle of playing a video game. We found ZoneAlarm very good at recognizing and automatically including settings for our local network.

In all our tests, the firewall guarded against all external and internal threats it encountered. ZoneAlarm is an excellent firewall choice for just about any average user.

ZoneAlarm is designed to protect your DSL- or cable-connected PC from hackers. This program includes four interlocking security services: a firewall, an application control, an Internet lock, and Zones. The firewall controls the door to your computer and allows only traffic you understand and initiate. The Internet lock blocks Internet traffic while your computer is unattended or while you're not using the Internet, and it can be activated automatically with your computer's screensaver or after a set period of inactivity. Zones monitor all activity on your computer and alert you when a new application attempts to access the Internet.

Version 8.0.065 improved performance during computer startup, shutdown and operation and addressed specific stability and quality issues.

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Free YouTube to MP3 Converter 3.2.1.59

Reviewed by:Ahmodur Rahman

The minor quibbles we have with Free YouTube to MP3 Converter have nothing to do with its functionality. This effective freeware is ready to go right out of the box, but can be easily customized by the user.

No effort has been made to dress up the program's utilitarian interface, which consists of seven large buttons, a few fields, and a drop-down menu. A plain text box advises users to paste URLs in the field, and this is all the onscreen guidance you'll need. Once you see the video title in the field, you click Download and the program goes to work. The process wasn't lightening quick, but considering the size of some of our test files, it wasn't bad. Converted files played without a hitch.

The beauty of this converter lies in its simple set up. By default, converted files are saved into the program's folder in My Documents, and they retain the name of the source video. The files are saved as MP3s, normal quality. These settings are easily changed, though, with quick-access buttons and a drop-down menu. The most work a user might have to do is fill out the fields in the optional Tags fields for artist, title, track, and other information.

Sadly, the program doesn't integrate with your browser, but you can opt to have it automatically pick up URLs from the clipboard, which eliminates one step from the cutting and pasting process. It also installs the Ask.com Toolbar and resets your home page to the Ask.com Web site by default, so if you don't want these extras, you'll have to uncheck some boxes during the installation process. These inconveniences are offset by the fact that this program is not only effective, it also costs nothing to use. We highly recommend Free YouTube to MP3 Converter for any user.

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Malwarebytes Anti-Malware 1.40

Reviewed by: MD:HAMDE RABBI

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is a surprisingly effective freeware antimalware tool. It's a relatively speedy malware remover, with the quick scan taking about 8 minutes even with other high-resource programs running. The heuristics engine proved on multiple computers during empirical testing that it was capable of determining the difference between false positives and dangerous apps.

The app has some nice features rolled in, too. It supports multiple drive scanning including networked drives, context menu options including a scan-on-demand for individual files, and the FileAssassin option under the More Tools section for removing locked files. The interface is simple, but pleasant-looking and well-organized. Tabs live just below the oversized logo, with few options per tab to keep down the clutter. The installation process was fast enough, but interestingly offered up the well-kept changelog and an instant definition file update.

Do note that the real-time protection is restricted to the paid version, as is the scheduler for updates and scans. Overall, though, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is a responsive malware remover that does what it should with a minimum of fuss.

Publisher's description

From Malwarebytes :

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware is a high performance anti-malware application that thoroughly removes even the most advanced malware and spyware. With one of the fastest, most effective quick scans and malware removal capabilities on the market, this program is the perfect addition to your PC's defenses. The full version of the product includes a number of key features, including the ability to schedule updates and scans and most importantly, a real-time malware protection module that blocks malicious processes before they even start.

Version 1.40 adds an IP blocking module, support for two new languages, and fixes a few bugs.

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