Best Anti Virus Software

There are lots of good virus scanners out there and most of them are doing a really good job. Norton AntiVirus has always been a good choice, but years of trouble with the subscription service drops it from the pole position. The latest version of McAfee VirusScan is better than ever and the great interface makes it a top pick. The guys over at Grisoft offers a free version of their impressing AVG Anti Virus. This is a really good pick if you get along without technical support.

Commercial pick
McAfee VirusScan 2006
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Free pick
AVG Anti Virus 7 Free Edition
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Best Firewall

A personal firewall should do two things - protect and be invisible. I've picked applications that performs really, really well and still requires minimum user interaction. The free Zone Alarm is just a firewall while the commercial ZoneAlarm Pro also contains anti-spyware and identity theft security. Kerio Personal Firewall is a really good application and the free and commercial versions are just the same. However

Commercial pick
ZoneAlarm Pro 6
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Free pick
Zone Alarm 6
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Runner up
Kerio Personal Firewall 4
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Best Spyware/Adware Remover

Unfortunately a product like this is something you need these days. Spy Sweeper from Webroot is an excellent utility - fast, easy to use and most important it finds all nasty stuff lurking on your computer. The free alternative Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware is only in beta but delivers. It consumes a lot of processing power and if you got a slow machine I'll suggest you go for the runner up Spybot - Search & Destroy.

Commercial pick
Spy Sweeper 4.5
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Free pick
Windows AntiSpyware Beta 1
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Runner up
Spybot - Search & Destroy 1.4
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Best File Manager

Windows Explorer works fine for occationally copying and renaming a file. As soon as you manage files everyday you'll need a two-pane file manager. I've always used Total Commander but when I tried the latest version of Direcory Opus I never switched back. Xplorer 2 Lite is the free version of Xplorer 2 and still offers far more than Windows Explorer.

Commercial pick
Directory Opus 8
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Free pick
Xplorer 2 Lite
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