freeware

Two free Mac antivirus apps compared

Recent malware attacks targeting Macs haven't tarnished the machine's reputation as the safer alternative to a Windows PC. But for many Mac users, the Flashback Trojan has dispelled the myth of Mac invulnerability.

The most recent Java-based iteration of Flashback appears to be easy to catch: just visit the wrong Web page and your machine's infected, as Josh Lowensohn describes in his Flashback FAQ.

The FAQ explains that Flashback's creators may have exploited Apple's go-it-alone strategy. Apple refuses to preinstall Adobe's Flash player, so Mac users are prompted to download and install the plug-in … Read more

Ad-Aware 10: Something completely different

The bottom line: The new owners of Lavasoft have revamped Ad-Aware to the point where it has almost nothing in common with its predecessors besides function. It's a good reboot, but it's not out of the woods yet.

Review: While the name Ad-Aware remains the same as it has for the past 13 years, everything from the user interface to the code powering Ad-Aware 10 is entirely new.

More so than any recent version of Ad-Aware, the suite is usable, lightweight, and worthy of your attention.

Installation The installation is straightforward, although it still does opt you in … Read more

Ad-Aware 10: Something completely different

Review: While the name Ad-Aware remains the same as it has for the past 13 years, everything from the user interface to the code powering Ad-Aware 10 is entirely new.

More so than any recent version of Ad-Aware, the suite is usable, lightweight, and worthy of your attention.

Installation The installation is straightforward, although it still does opt you in … Read more

Ad-Aware 10: Something completely different

Review: While the name Ad-Aware remains the same as it has for the past 13 years, everything from the user interface to the code powering Ad-Aware 10 is entirely new.

More so than any recent version of Ad-Aware, the suite is usable, lightweight, and worthy of your attention.

Installation The installation is straightforward, although it still does opt you in … Read more

Three free services for creating instant Web sites

One of the fastest ways to share multiple documents with a lot of people is to convert the related files into a mini-Web site. Free site-creation services do all the heavy lifting.

Insta-site services range from the no-muss, no-fuss Page-o-rama to the business-focused features of Google Sites. If you can do without advanced features, Weebly's drag-and-drop approach to page design lets you create a fairly sophisticated mini-site in just minutes.

With Google Sites and Weebly, you paste text and images into prefab page templates. As you create new pages, site-navigation links are generated automatically. Page-o-rama is merely an online … Read more

How to use VPN to defeat deep packet inspection

Imagine a technology that can stop spam and malware, identify and block illegal downloads, and allow ISPs to prioritize the data they transmit by content as well as by type. Sounds pretty good.

Now imagine a technology that gives network managers and governments the ability to monitor everything you do on the Internet, including reading and recording your e-mail and other digital communications, and tracking your every move on the Web.

Of course, it's the same technology--deep packet inspection by name. That's how governments around the world are able to spy on their citizens' online activities and control … Read more

Reader poll: What's the best free backup program?

You know you're supposed to make regular backups, yet you're just not doing it. Why?

If it's because you're not wild about the idea of spending money on backup software, here's good news: you don't have to. There are plenty of full-featured backup utilities (for Windows, anyway) that don't cost a dime.

Indeed, your only out-of-pocket expense should be a USB or network hard drive--a place to hold your precious data in case your primary drive goes belly-up.

Below I've rounded up five of the most popular and well-known backup programs for … Read more

A free Microsoft Office alternative that's actually good

About a week ago I featured Kingsoft Office Suite Professional 2012 in a bonus deal. Since then I've been test-driving the software on an old laptop. And you know what? I like it!

I mention this because although the Kingsoft Professional giveaway is over, you can still get Kingsoft Office Suite Free 2012 for, well, free. Update: This program is for Windows.

Until last week, I'd never heard of Kingsoft or this product. I had, however, tried all the usual freebie Microsoft Office alternatives: OpenOffice, LibreOffice, Lotus Symphony, Google Docs, and so on.

They're all OK--good enough, … Read more

How to start Windows 7 faster

High-performance PC hardware doesn't always deliver the speed users expect. But you probably shouldn't blame the hardware. The slowdown may be due to a software conflict.

A reader named Abe Ibrahim contacted me last week to ask about his slow Windows 7 PC:

My system: Asus Rampage III Extreme MB, Intel i7 980x CPU, 12GB Tri-Bus Memory, 128GB SSD (OS), and 9TB RAID-5 storage. One would think no matter what you ran, the system would scream through it. That is not the case with my system: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit boots in 51 seconds... [When] I use it … Read more

Four free must-have iPad apps for road warriors

Nobody who uses an iPad will ever confuse it for a full-feature notebook PC (especially once they've tried to enter data via the device's built-in keyboard). But anyone who computes on the road knows there's more to business travel than keyboarding.

These four free iPad apps transform the tablet into a clock radio, weather reporter, file manager, and multi-talented notepad.

Free file manager simplifies transfers to PCs via Wi-Fi, USB If you store Word, Excel, and other Office documents online, you may not need to keep copies of the files on your iPad. But many iPad users … Read more