AVG Free provides the bare necessities when it comes to security, but that should be enough for savvy Windows users. You’ll get a combined antivirus and antimalware engine, LinkScanner, and e-mail scanning. AVG Free 9 introduces a few new features, with improvements focused on performance, including claims of faster scan and boot times. One new feature is the Identity Theft Recovery Unit. Only for users in the United States, ITRU is a business partnership with Identity Guard which provides “consumer identity theft solutions,” accessible only from the AVG toolbar in Firefox and Internet Explorer.

The interface is nearly unchanged from the last version, and generally it’s easy to use. From the main window, though, you must double-click to get further information on any feature, whether virus scanning, LinkScanner settings, or updating. Streamlining this to one click would be helpful. A scheduling utility automates both scans and updates, while the upgrade ad at the screen’s bottom can be easily hidden using the Hide Notification button. When starting a scan, a slider makes it easy to jump between Slow, Automatic, and Fast scans: the faster the scan, the less comprehensive it is, so users should take advantage of the scan optimization that is recommended during installation to speed up that first scan. A progress meter for regular scans would’ve been useful, though. Should a virus create serious problems, AVG creates a rescue disk to scan your computer in MS-DOS mode.

The LinkScanner feature protects you from third-party code exploits before they load in your browser and for ranking search results. Annoyingly, when you install its optional toolbar, it commandeers your new-tab page, decidedly inappropriate behavior. The program doesn’t obviously tax your system when scanning or when running in the background, although CNET Labs determined that it will significantly slow down your system’s boot time, and slightly delay shutting down. AVG also detected some image files as threats, when two other scans decided they weren’t–we decided these were false positives. AVG might not be the fastest or the most effective free security option, but it still gets the job done and you’re better off with it.

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Online Armor Free

CNET editors’ rating: 4.5 stars

Online Armor has a professional feel that is typical of freeware versions of advanced security tools, pared down to its firewall options. The installation is blazingly fast, taking under 30 seconds from double-clicking on the installer to running the firewall. Once installed, Online Armor defaults to running its installation wizard, which it calls a Safety Check.

In addition to the firewall, which configures as much as possible during the start-up wizard so you’re not bothered later, Online Armor comes with a keylogger guard, tamper protection, malicious script and worm protection, and limited autostart protection. The paid versions offer more, such as antivirus and anti-malware protection, phishing filters, online banking protection, and e-mail filtering. Even with these limitations, if you’re not satisfied with the much-improved Windows firewall, Online Armor defends you from a wide range of sophisticated attacks.

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ThreatFire AntiVirus Free Edition

CNET editors’ rating: 5.0 stars

ThreatFire offers real-time prevention of virus and malware infections by identifying suspicious behavior (“zero-day” events) as it happens, before malicious code installs itself on your PC.

ThreatFire does do some things very well. It seeks out rootkits, heuristics-based threats, viruses, worms, trojans, spyware, adware, keyloggers, and buffer overflows. The software real-time protection didn’t noticeably slow down our computer, and the customizable advanced settings were excellent. Users can pick and choose their preferred trusted processes and create rules for detection, such as scanning for SCR files created by an e-mail client. You can also avail yourself of the scheduler, and create a system restore point before moving threats into quarantine. Working as a complement to your currently installed antivirus, ThreatFire has improved markedly in the past few years.

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Avira AntiVir Personal – Free Antivirus

CNET editors’ rating: 4.5 stars

Avira AntiVir Personal Free Antivirus does double duty, protecting against spyware and viruses alike. The latest version introduces antispyware protections, scanning tech that can crack open “locked” files, improved internal security to prevent AntiVir’s files from being maliciously altered, and one-click threat removal–no more baby-sitting the program to get it to complete a scan. Third-party testers have determined that while AntiVir has one of the highest detection rates around, its false positives are also high. AntiVir’s scans are flexible, allowing the user to check all hard drives, choose a preloaded scan–for rootkits, for example–or customize. The heuristic scan can be turned on or off completely or partially, with three different intensity levels. The quarantine offers extensive support, too, although the definition file updater can be sluggish.

One of AntiVir Free’s biggest drawbacks is the pop-up ad that pesters users to upgrade to the paid version after each definition file update. There are ways to disable it, but using the program as it was intended has the potential to frustrate gamers and those who enjoy full-screen video playback. Nevertheless, AntiVir’s protection is highly regarded, as it should be.

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CNET editors’ rating: 5.0 stars

In the tripartite competition between the most popular free antivirus software, Avast Free Antivirus has arguably gotten the least attention outside of Europe, but we expect that to change. Avast’s recent independent third-party testing has been notably solid, able to hold its own against better-known programs from Symantec and Microsoft.

Avast doesn’t skimp on the protection it offers, either. It guards your PC with multiple shields that scan files and the network connection. It comes built with a robust set of tools, including antivirus, antispyware, antirootkit, heuristic-based detection, and shields for P2P transfers, instant messaging, network traffic, and the Web. You can select parameters for scanning, choose wild cards to exclude specific file types, and block certain URLs and file operations, such as writing to files or even renaming, deleting, or formatting them. You can adjust the sensitivity level for the program’s detectors. The clean new layout won’t seem unusual to new users, but old fans will note that this is a dramatic change from the unhelpful previous design. With immediate real-time protection, clockwork updates, and much more, this free software is highly regarded.

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Easy Words

The orbit downloader is actually on of my favorite download accelerators which gives you user friendly enterface and also easy downloading ability from most of the stream videos that you can see on web sites like you tube just few clicks on the mouse and you have the video downloaded and more importantly free of charge

Complicated Words

Downloading videos, Flash games, and large batches of files is greatly simplified with this freeware download manager, but Firefox users may have difficulty with integration.

Orbit’s primary interface is bland, but the basic toolbar and info boxes guarantee everything is easy to find. Orbit shines with Internet Explorer integration. To get a media file, simply right-click a video or photo and choose Download from your context menu. Grabbing a Flash game is even easier. Hover over a Flash file, and Orbit displays a button for a fast download.

Fast and small are key traits of this application. It uses a bare minimum of memory, and downloads are much faster than with a browser alone. Where Orbit shines is its one-button simplicity for downloading multiple files on a site. From there, you can easily filter for file type. Orbit’s numerous configuration options make it one of the more flexible download managers available.

Although designed to integrate with the IE, Firefox, Opera and Maxthon, we had great difficulty getting Orbit to work seamlessly with Firefox. We finally gave up trying to get the Flash download feature to work. Nevertheless, anyone downloading large numbers of files will find this freeware indispensable.

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thanks to Pranav Mistry from MIT university and his research team.

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science adviser and inventor John Underkoffler demos g-speak — the real-life version of the film’s eye-popping, tai chi-meets-cyberspace computer interface. Is this how tomorrow’s computers will be controlled?

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By default once you click on downloading a file link in chrome the file will start downloading in the default download destination. Today we will check how to make chrome to ask you the destination of downloading files once you clicked on the link. So if you are interested to follow us click on “more” button.

1. Open Google Chrome and click on Options in setting menu.

1. Move to “under the bonnet” tab and navigate the scroll to “Download” settings section. Then check the “Ask where to save each file before downloading” checkbox.

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