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Recommended Software

We have been in the computer repair business since 1997 and in Ruidoso, NM since 1998.  As you might be able to guess, we have run across a lot of software that is really, really bad.  Fortunately, we've also run across some that is really, really good.  The following list is not exhaustive, but is the best of what we have found.  As we find other products, we will either add to the list or replace products in the list if they fall behind in quality.

Software is listed in alphabetical order, not recommended order.  If it is on this page, we like it!

Malware

What is malware? Malware is a term basically referencing all types of intentionally harmful software, such as.. Viruses, Spyware, Adware, Rogues, etc. 

Can I be completely safe from malware? Unfortunately, there is no "Silver Bullet" for any of these nuisances.  This is because the  vandal (after all, this is, at best, high-tech vandalism and at worst, out and out thievery) writes his new program (malware) and releases it into the public.  After a while, a few hours to a few days, the anti-malware companies discover  them and write code to stop the new malware, then they have to refine it to clean up the mess left by the malware.  Therefore, there is a dead period of time between the malware release and the time your pc receives the new Anti-Malware code to protect itself that the computer can get hit by the Malware. 

What are the best programs to help protect my computer from malware? Here are some of the programs that we have had the best luck with in protecting and cleaning different Malware.  If yours happens to be one of the first to get a new, powerful Malware, it can be several days before any Anti-Malware program can fix it.
 

Anti-Malware

Vipre Premium has a firewall as well. 
Great pricing on a home site license for multiple computers.
 

In this section are links for Anti-Malware, but they specialize more in SpyWare, Rogues and AdWare.  We have had good success with the following products, however, if you are running an Anti-Virus program that has a real time scanner, you need to disable either your Anti-Virus or Anti-Spyware real time scanner.  If you try to leave both running, there is a good chance that they will conflict with each other and cause other problems. 

We normally use the following as on-demand scanners.  In the event that your computer has a bad infection, you may need to run several programs.  We have found that no program has a 100% removal rate, so running multiple program scans, will allow other files missed by one, to be "swept" up by another.

These all have free trial periods so you can evaluate them and see which ones work best for you.

SUPERAntiSpyware, with over 20 million users worldwide, is one of the most thorough scanners on the market. Our Multi-Dimensional Scanning and Process Interrogation Technology will detect spyware other products miss! Easily remove pests such as Vundo, TDSS, AntiVirus Pro 2010, and thousands more! Repair broken Internet Connections, Desktops, Registry Editing and more with our unique Repair System. Our Dedicated Threat Research Team scours the web for new threats and provides daily definition updates.
 

Anti-Spam

Ahhh... now we come to spam.  How annoying is spam? Let me count the ways!  Aside from just being a nuisance, it can also be a security hazard.  Spam can be anything from just a time waster to a thief, but it is not irrelevant. 

I've personally been using MailWasherPro for many many years (since version 1.33 around 2001 or 2002).  It was great during the dial-up days because it speeded up e-mail checking immensely by deleting spam at the server and not having to download everything. It is great now, because my spam amount has escalated over the years and MailWasherPro slashes e-mail checking time tremendously by marking the majority of the spam for me.  Since it is color coded, I can scan for and mark additional spam quickly, then dump it and retrieve my good e-mail pronto.  By the way, MailWasherPro even has a recovery feature just in case you ever delete the wrong email by mistake.  It is easy to learn and I really do love this program.  I've tried several others, but I've never found any that I like as much as MailWasherPro.

Try it for a few days free and I'll bet you'll be a believer too!
 

Hard Disk Defragment Utilities

Defragmentation Utilities

Defragment is a strange sounding word and sounds even more frightening when you consider doing it to your hard drive!  Following is an analogy that may help explain why this process is important.

Files are saved in "pieces", much like a single jigsaw puzzle is made up of many pieces.  If four different puzzles, even if they don't have many pieces each, are stored in the same box, it takes longer to sort them out and put them together than if they are stored in their own separate boxes.  It gets even more critical as the number of pieces and number of puzzles grows.

Defragmenting, then is just moving the "pieces" of files close to each other (in their own boxes) so that they are put together much faster, thus speeding up nearly everything that your PC does.

Yes, Windows does have its own defragmentation utility and it is better than not doing it at all, but third party companies that specialize in this type of utility do a better job, faster and in the background.  You don't have to remember to run it, or leave your computer running on a certain day of the week.  They just run while your computer is idle throughout the day and keep your disk humming along without your doing anything but your normal work or play!
 

More to come as I get time to post!  Check back with us soon.