It’s fairly easy to install a memory card to a desktop, but it can be more difficult for less experienced users to add memory to a laptop. And, what if you’ve used up all your additional memory slots, but still don’t have enough? My previous computer was a Sony Vaio desktop and only came with one additional slot. The same holds true with my new Toshiba Satellite. Not to worry, there’s an easy way around all this and it may be sitting right next to your computer, taking up space, and it’s called a USB flash drive.

You can use ReadyBoost with a USB flash drive to instantly and very easily add more memory, making your computer and software run faster. It’s basically a matter of plugging the flash drive in and clicking a couple of buttons and Bammo…you have added additional RAM to your computer. To be honest, this is actually the whole purpose of ReadBoost.

To use ReadyBoost, both the flash drive and your computer must have USB 2.0 or higher.

1. Now, plug a flash drive into your computer’s USB jack. The AutoPlay dialog box should open.
2. Click “Speed up my system” in the flash device’s Properties dialog box.
3. Turn on “Use this device”.
4. Try out your most resource heavy game.

You computer will now use the flash drive in addition to its own built-in RAM, and you should get a speed boost.

Here is some additional information you should know:

• ReadyBoost will work with other memory cards like SD and Compact Flash cards from digital cameras, but only if you computer has a buit-in card slot. You can not use external card readers.
• Not all flash drives will work with ReadyBoost. You’ll need to look at the drive’s package and see if there’s a Vista ReadyBoost logo.
• You can only use one flash drive per computer.
• ReadyBoost works only with memory gadgets with capacities from 256 MB to 4GB.

The amount of speed boost you get depends on how large the flash or other drive is. You’ll need to use the same size USB flash drive as the memory in your computer. In other words, if your computer has 1GB RAM, you should use a 1 gig flash drive. Using smaller flash drives will greatly reduce the amount of speed boost you get from ReadyBoost.

Finally, remember that the flash drive can not be used for storing files after using it for memory until you change the settings in the Properties dialog box, or until you reformat the drive.

Here’s a good video a young man made about Vista ReadyBoost:

For these reasons, I have listed only the best (as rated by software experts and testing companies), Windows personal firewalls for 2008. You can consider these the best of the best, whether they are free, paid, stand-alone, or included in a full security suite. I’m providing this information to help my readers quickly and easily determine the best firewall for their needs and budget.

Use the table to do a quick side-by-side comparison of features and pricing, and see below that to get some additional information on each firewall download. All links at the top of the table go directly to the software home site.

Personal Firewalls

Features & Specs	Outpost Pro	Online Armor Paid Version	COMODO	Kaspersky Suite
Host Protection
Email Protection
File Protection
Registry Protection
Network Traffic
Data Filtering
Stealth Mode
Application Monitor
Automatic Updates
Intruder Alerts
Intruder Log
Self Protection
Virus Protection
Prevents Tracking Cookies
Web Filter
Spyware Protection
32 & 64 bit Windows
Windows Vista
Windows XP
Windows Server 2003
Windows 2000
Price	$39.95	$39.95	Free	$79.95

The Kaspersky firewall is actually include in their full 2009 security software suite. I included it in this list because it received a score of 85% after serious testing by matousec.com. The suite includes the quality, 2-way firewall, virus protection, configuration and privacy tools, personal information protection, parental controls, whitelisting, and much more. A great solution if you’re looking for an all-in-one package.

As you can see from the table above, COMODO personal firewall has all the features you’re looking for in a firewall and it’s 100% free. This is not a watered down or limited version. COMODO is able to do this by working with online merchants to help create consumer confidence when making online purchases. There are a few complaints, and you can read about those on our COMODO review page.

The Online Armore personal firewall received the highest score of 98% after matousec.com testing. They do offer a free version, but it is very limited compared to the paid version. There is also an AV version which includes virus protection, but it costs $30.00 more than the version priced above.

Outpost Pro personal firewall received a score of 98% and “Excellent” rating and offers the most features at the best price among paid firewalls.

There’s no need for “information overload” when shopping for a Windows firewall. This list is fairly short and you’ll only need to judge which one is best for you by considering your Internet use, budget, and possibly the amount of shopping and/or online banking you do. Good luck and feel free to ask any further questions below.

You’re just not going to convince everyone. People get used to using a browser like Internet Explorer and simply don’t want to try something new. Perhaps they download Firefox just so they can say they gave it a try, but quickly return to their browser of choice. Others may not use IE, but simply do not like Firefox either, for whatever reason. However, I think the main reason to remove Firefox is for upgrading. No doubt millions have downloaded and installed Firefox 3 and continue to do so, but there are some potential conflicts with older versions.

I experienced this myself recently. I installed FF3 just after it came out and began having trouble with soon after. I was slow to act, but I finally saved my Bookmarks and used the default Firefox uninstaller, thinking that would remove all traces of the browser. Unfortunately, that was not the case and my new installation of Firefox 3 had the same problems. Being the procrastinator that I am, I let Firefox drive me crazy for about a month, then decided to look further into the matter. What I found out from other FF users was that normal uninstall programs did not remove all traces of my old version of Firefox and this was causing conflicts with FF3.

I searched for and read seval guides to removing Firefox, and quickly realized they were not all providing the same information. So, which one to follow? I finally came accross the article below from TweaksGuides.com, which seemed correct and after going through the steps, proved to be the correct method for completely removing all traces of Firefox. It is also very easy to follow and computer users of any experience level should be able to perform these steps without any trouble. If you’re at all conserned about messing with the Windows registry, just be sure to back it up before performing these steps.

1. Backup your bookmarks as a Bookmarks.html file. In Firefox 2 go to the Bookmarks menu, select ‘Organize Bookmarks’, then select File>Export. In Firefox 3, go to the Bookmarks menu, select ‘Organize Bookmarks’, then select ‘Import and Backup’>Export HTML. Note the difference between .HTML and .JSON Bookmark files is explained in more detail in the Advanced Tweaking section of the guide.

2. Go to Control Panel>Add/Remove Programs in Windows XP; or Control Panel>Programs & Features in Windows Vista, and if a ‘Mozilla Firefox’ entry (or similar) exists, select it and click Change/Remove and uninstall it. During uninstallation, tick the ‘Remove my Firefox personal data and customizations’ box as well.

3. Go to your \Program Files\Mozilla Firefox directory and delete it and all of its contents if it still exists.

4. Delete the following directories if they exist:

In Windows XP -

\Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\Mozilla

\Documents and Settings\[Username]\Local Settings\Application Data\Mozilla

In Windows Vista -

\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Mozilla

\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\

Note that this will delete all of your bookmarks and saved settings, so make sure you’ve backed up your bookmarks as covered in step 1. You might also want to note down any passwords which you might otherwise forget.

5. Find and remove all Firefox/Mozilla-related entries in the Windows Registry. Using the Windows Registry Editor (Start>Run>Regedit), delete the following keys - that is, right click on their name in the left pane of Registry Editor and select Delete:

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\FirefoxHTML]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\FirefoxURL\]

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Applications\firefox.exe]

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Mozilla]

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\MozillaPlugins]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Mozilla]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\mozilla.org]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MozillaPlugins]

Note: If you also have Mozilla Thunderbird or any other Mozilla products installed, make sure to only uninstall entries under the keys above which relate directly to Firefox by name.

Features of the free firewall include:

• Complete protection from Hackers, Spyware, Trojans, and Identity theft
• Malware prevention
• Asks for approval before allowing applications to be installed on your system
• A Malware scan prior to installation

The user interface is clean and user friendly and COMODO updates its self automatically.

I found few complaints before downloading and installing this firewall, but one gave caused a slight hesitation. One user stated the firewall had a problem remembering when told to allow and remember. Most firewalls, when first installed, have to learn what what applications the user wants to allow access the Internet or network. Despite this, I decided to give it a try. Once installed, I had little problem with it at first. I didn’t downloading any software right away, but when I did this memory problem became apparent.

When an application tries to install, COMODO pops up a little box asking you if you want to allow it, block it, or treat it as an application along with some information about the file performing the actions. There is also a little check box where you can tell COMODO to remember your answer so it (supposedly) doesn’t have to ask you again. Although I had this box checked every time, the firewall seems to ignore it. I’ve installed several applications since and it’s the same thing every time - check allow and click OK over and over and over and… well you get the picture.

This is not only a nuisance, it causes a real slow-down when installing software. I’ve installed software that normally would take no more than 30 seconds but ended up taking several minutes because of COMODO. The more I have to go through this the more I am considering going back to Sygate or some other firewall. This is disappointing because I know COMODO is giving me quality security and totally free.

This software provides several other functions as well. Under the settings tab, you can

• Change the language settings
• Adjust default settings
• Set up ignore lists
• Set scan for usage tracks
• And change the skins

The Tools tab allows you to select programs you do not want to run on Windows start-up. This saves system resources and keeps your computer running faster. You can also make some teaks to Internet Explorer, and use the file shredder to permanently erase sensitive files.

Spybot S&D is top-notch anti-spyware protection, but depending on your surfing habits (amount of time you spend on the Internet), you may want to use an additional anti-spyware programs which monitors your system as your surfing the Internet.

The entire page is downloaded including pictures, graphics, and malicious programs. This software can be installed even when you think your system is fully protected. Another way for malicious code to reach your hard drive through legitimate looking email. The software is activated and installs itself the second you open the email.

Spyware can perform several different malicious functions. It can secretly record every keystroke you make whether typing on a Web page or on your computer. It can also make a screen shot of any emails you open them. Ms. Gachenge goes on talk about spyware taking over your browser and directing it to other malicious pages where more spyware can be downloaded or information gathered. This is more akin to certain types of viruses.

Ms. Gachenge makes a good point to increase consumer understanding of spyware by re-classifying it as “privacy-invasive software”. This is certainly a more accurate and descriptive label for those not so well informed about these types of threats. However in this article, the writer obviously lumps sypware and viruses in the same category. Spyware’s main purpose is to record personal information and transmit that information to it’s creators or those who would pay to have it created for them. Viruses, on the other had, are more often meant to cause harm to ones system or take over certain functions. An obvious slow-down is a good indication that your system has been infected.

This article at Business Daily Africa concludes by recommending an anti-spyware program called Spyware Blaster. This is a freeware program for personal use only. I have never used this software myself, so I went in search of some real user reviews.

Spyware Blaster does not actively detect and remove malicious programs. SB’s job is to block malicous code like ActiveX spyware, adware, tojans, hijackers and others including tracking cookies from infecting your system in the first place. Spyware Blatster seems to work well with an average user rating of 4 of 5 starts at Cnet.com, the same rating at Majorgeeks.com. Unfortunately, most of the protection is only available for those using Internet Explorer. Firefox and Netscape users only get cookie blocking. Opera and other browsers are not supported.

The program is free but updates are done manually. For $10 a year, you can get automatic updates and tech support. Spyware Blaster is not perfect and will not catch all forms of spyware, but it’s a good idea to use it in conjunction with a spyware detection and removal tool. After all, it’s free and does not devour system resources.

I should not that this is not just an upgrade, but a full software download - about 45mb.

Well, the installation went well (of course I had to disable COMDO) and version 8.0 definitely got a face lift. I even got this little “Did you know” message “The number of poisoned web sites is increasing. 1 in 1000 web pages are infected with malicious drive-by downloads”. After restart all I had to do was run an update for the database. The old version of AVG free was automatically removed. I’m off to run a full system scan since I haven’t run one in a couple of weeks anyway…BAD Rick.

Well the scan finished with 838,000 objects scanned and 72 warnings. No viruses but AVG did find several occurrences of adware which it considers a “potentially dangerous object” and several tracking cookies. This even though I run AVG anti-spyware and spybot s&d regularly.

Avast Home Edition by Alwil is not quite as well know, but it has the same type of features as AVG and provides quality protection against viruses. The GUI (Graphical User Interface) is simplistic and mainly provides buttons for performing functions. However, hovering over the buttons gives you a text description of what the button does. The interface could be better, but it only takes a little getting used to.

Free Avast installs quickly and provides real-time protection against viruses including email scanning, P2P, and instant messaging shields. Upon installation, you’ll have to reboot your computer and wait for Avast to perform a root level virus scan, looking for any threats that may try to load upon startup. Avast will perform a memory scan each time it’s started with the option to skip the scan.

Free Avast Home Edition auto updates all it’s components, so it is a set it and forget it type software program. The free edition includes functions that AVG does not including anti-spyware protection and anti-rootkit. In my opinion, this makes Avast the best free anti-virus software available. You can use this software for 60 days, but then you’ll have to register (free) and enter a product key. After that, no further steps are required.

Here’s a 10 min. video on how to install and run Avast Home Edition:

These are the only fully functional, quality anti-virus programs which are free that I know of. If you researched either program, you would find that they are both highly rated and recommended with many user stating that one or both would give you all the virus protection you need. I recommend Avast over AVG simply because it comes with the added protections against spyware and rootkits. Either way you go, you can rest assured that you have  very good anti-virus software.

It also sounds like this could cause more problems than it prevents…at least to me. I would agree that it could be good for testing downloads, as long as you only turn it on before the download and turn it off right after. If you were to have it on all the time, you’d loose everything you did once you turn it off. That includes downloads, bookmarks, installed software, and who knows what else.

My personal opinion is it’s not worth it, even if it is free. Here’s the description written by Erik Larkin:

[quote]A security tool that can wipe clean any malicious changes to your system, but also clears away files or bookmarks you might want to keep.

The Returnil Virtual System offers a different sort of protection for your PC. Instead of trying to block malware before it can infect your system, it allows you to reset your computer to how it was before you turned on the software’s virtual environment, so that any Trojans or other nasties that might have wormed their way in are wiped clean as if they were never there.

This can be an effective approach, but there’s a drawback. Any good changes you make while the virtual protection was on–such as downloaded files, installed programs or bookmarked pages–also get rolled back.

Once installed, Returnil keeps a small bar at the top of your screen and an icon in the system tray. It doesn’t do anything until you turn it on by right-clicking either place and choosing ‘enable.’

From then on, everything you do takes place in a virtual copy of your system, but doesn’t change the ‘real’ Windows installation on your hard drive. So you can surf the Web, read e-mail, and even install downloaded programs, but after you turn off the virtual protection (which requires a reboot), everything goes back to how it was before you turned on the virtual system protection.

That can be handy for testing a new download, but it might cause some headaches if you happen across a site you’d like to bookmark, or download an e-mail attachment you’d like to keep. Those changes go away as well–though the company offers a $25 a year Premium edition that allows for selecting files to keep in the ‘real’ system.

If you’re willing to change your own habits and put up with its limitations, Returnil can provide strong protection for your PC. But it does mean putting up with major changes. [/quote]

Similar to Firefox, Internet Explorer’s default settings are to only allow 2 files to be downloaded at the same time. Obviously, this will restrict the speed at which you can download images, pdf documents, and videos, etc.. However, the web pages you visit are also downloaded to your computer, so it stands to reason that increasing the number of simultaneous file downloads will increase your Internet surfing speed, as well as boosting the speed when you’re downloading files.

As with the Firefox tweaks, only those using a high-speed Internet connection will see better results from these adjustments.

To make Internet Explorer 7 download faster, start regedit by type “regedit.exe” in the Run command line for Windows XP users or just “regedit” in the search box for Vista users.

1. Once regedit is loaded, navigate to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings

You should be here:

2. Right click in the empty space, and create a new DWord (32-bit) value by choosing New > DWord Value and name it
MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server (The 0 beside Server is a zero)

3. Double click this entry and modify the value to the preferred maximum number of downloads. The maximum value you can put here is 10, which gives you five time the number of simultaneous downloads.

4. Create another DWord and name it MaxConnectionsPerServer. Double click it as before and set it to the value you used for MaxconnectionsPer1_0Server.

You’re done. Now get out there and test your new download speed.