The browser wars have been in full swing for several years now with Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox being the major contenders. Unfortunately, IE is still in the lead as far as popularity. Those of us in the Firefox corner know the real advantages Firefox holds over Internet Explorer no matter the efforts from Microsoft. …click here to read more

So you want to make your computer run faster, increase your frame rate for gaming, and boost your Internet surfing speed? Good idea and a good way to start is by disabling unnecessary programs from running upon startup through msconfig. We are not all “computer geeks” however, and we are not always sure which programs are safe to disable. Well, there is one link that will help users of any experience level to determine which ones are safe. …click here to read more

Windows XP does have a built-in CD burner utility. Unfortunately, it does not burn DVDs or any type of high-definition media. Of course, there are several paid burners you could buy, like the popular Nero 8 Ultra for $80.00. However, there are a couple of good alternatives which are free and do not come with spyware or other malicious components. …click here to read more

Have you ever booted your computer only to be faced with an error like “Boot Failure: System Halted”? The partition sector is most important component of the boot sequence and a problem there will cause some serious headaches for you. There are several free partition recovery tools, but users are looking for software that will actually repair the partition. This NTFS Partition Repair And Recovery Software will do just that and it’s free. …click here to read more

Ah! Another free software program and what a little gem this one is. Cleanup Assistant searches your hard drive to find duplicate files, unused junk files, and empty folders and removes them to free up space on your hard drive and keeps it from slowing down. The cleaner your hard drive, the better your computer operates. This is not a complex software suite by any stretch, but it serves it’s purpose well.

…click here to read more

I started using PC Pitstop about 3 years ago, and I’ve been very pleased with their free testing tools. They helped me fix slow downs several times when I had my desktop running Windows XP, and I found out my graphics card was bad. I haven’t been to there site since I got my new laptop, until today. I get an email announcing a new bandwidth test, so I had to go check it out. I was pleased to discover that I didn’t even have to log in. …click here to read more

New for 2008 is the latest version of Iolo System Mechanic Pro 7.5. System mechanic is a full suite of computer system utilities.

A system tool like this is great for all of us non-geeks and those of us who don’t have a geeky friend we can on every time we to do something at the system level. Until recently, the standard version of system mechanic costs $50.00 and which did not include anti-virus protection; secure data wiping and recovery; or the firewall. Iolo is now offering the full package for $48.97, so jump on it. Supposedly, this is a “limited time offer”.
…click here to read more

Petko D. Petkov of gnucitizen.org, a self proclaimed security think tank, has found a vulnerability in Apple’s QuickTime media player which could allow an attacker to take control of a users computer.
…click here to read more

Well after vista Windows 7 is the immediate next operating system from Microsoft. Microsoft will ship Windows 7 sometime in or near Jan. 2010, according to a letter company senior vice president Bill Veghte sent to Microsoft customers Tuesday. The letter, sent to enterprise and business customers, will eventually be publicly posted on Microsoft’s Web site.

Windows 7 is coming. Will your PC be ready?

It seems like a straightforward question. However, in the aftermath of the Vista debacle, where many systems that were certified as “Vista Ready” proved to be anything but, the process of vetting Windows-compatible hardware has taken on new complexity. You simply cannot count on Microsoft to provide an honest assessment of Windows system requirements. And as the “Vista Ready” experience has shown us, Microsoft’s vendor partners are no better. …click here to read more