SUPERAntiSpyware (5.6.1014) Professional Edition – Full Review

The Rating Scale Breakdown:

• 0  – 0.5 – Abysmal
• 1.0 – 1.5 – Terrible
• 2.0 – 2.5 – Poor
• 3.0 – 3.5 – Average
• 4.0 – 4.5 – Great
• 5.0 – Excellent

• Undetermined – Too soon to tell or lacking evidence to provide a solid answer
• Not Tested – Has yet to be requested or there is some limitations to prevent accurate test results
• N/A – Not Available and or Not Applicable to this program

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V. 5.5 B – “SAS” Professional Review Template + Added Input About Lack Of Phone And Or Live Chat Support For “SAS Pro”

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Price: $29.95 USD/CAD For A 1 year Subscription For Up To 3 PC’s.

Is SUPERAntiSpyware Pro Worth The Price ?: Yes it is. If you want the full protection with the added benefits of Automatic Updating, Scheduling Scanning and Real-Time Protection. Then you will be more then happy with the $29.95 USD/CAD price point.

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A. Installation SUPERAntiSpyware - 5.0 “Excellent” – Fast, Safe and Simple

B. Un-installing SUPERAntiSpyware – 3.5 “Average“ – No start menu un-install feature. But you can un-install using the Windows control panel.

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C. Stability Of Program - 5.0 “Excellent” – Absolutely no stability issues.

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D. Residential Shield Test - 4.5 “Great“ – Very useful and its always great when you can add an extra layer protection to your PC.

DD. Browser Hi-Jack And Registry Protection – 4.0 “Great“ – Great. But there is still no protection for ether Mozilla Firefox or Chrome.

DDD. System Repair Option – 4.0 “Great“ – Used it and it works like a charm. Thou you still should read the descriptions over a few times. Before you decide to use one of the many repair options SUPERAntiSpyware Pro has.

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E. Detection Rate Test:

E1. Windows XP – 5.0 “Excellent“

E2. Windows Vista – 5.0 “Excellent“

E3. Windows 7 - 5.0 “Excellent“

E4. Windows 8 – 5.0 “Excellent“

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F. Speed of Scan – 4.5 “Great“ – Scan times have been reduced by just under 50%. So what use to take me anywhere from 35 to 45 mins to perform a scan. Now clocks in at just over 20 to 35 mins.

FF. Scan Boost – 5.0 “Excellent” - This option seems to have remained. So much so even my dual core computers have show at least a 10 to 20 mins differences between using regular or “Low Boost” as oppose to “High Boost” scanning option.

FFF. Types Of Different Scans Available - 5.0 ” Excellent” - With 5 different types of scans to suite your fancy. You can’t go wrong regardless of your final choice of scan.

G.Update Manager – 5.0 ” Excellent“ – Works like a charm with no lag at all.

H. Scan Logs – 3.5 “Average” - The logs could be quite a bit easier to read. But they are in the same league as most programs in this category.

I. SUPERAntiSpyware Support - 3.0 “Average“ – You have their “Free, unlimited 24/7 technical support via e-mail”,  “Customer Support Request Form” or “User Forums“

**Yes, people I agree it is SUPER lame that SUPERAntiSpyware Pro. The paid version of SUPERAntiSpyware has no phone support or live chat support.

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My Overall Score: 72/80

90 % = A +

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My Overall Outlook: SUPERAntiSpyware remains a very easy and safe program to use. SUPERAntiSpyware is truly your one stop shop for Spyware, Adware, Malware and Internet Cookie detection and removal.

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My Final Verdict: I have to admit at first glance that SUPERAntiSpyware’s major overhaul and update had me wondering if this (5.6.1020) build was what I have been waiting for for a really long time. But in this case SUPERAntiSpyware (5.6.1020) update is nothing but a quick tweak. There really is nothing of note to be said of this very minor update to a program that is not only showing it’s age. But could use a few nice tweaks updates.

Such as the long overdue Browser Hi-Jack Protection for other Internet browsers such as Firefox would be very much appreciated. Also an update to the overly bland UI (User Interface).

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Here is 1 link to download SUPERAntiSpyware Professional Trial Edition:

1.
http://www.superantispyware.com/download.html
(SUPERAntiSpyware Main Site)

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Return To The Main Reviews Page

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Till The Next Review,

Remy “Se7en”

New Spybot – Search & Destroy Definition Update Available (2013-06-19)

Dear Readers,

Hello and welcome to my post that will be continuing to following all of the weekly Wednesday. Spybot – Search & Destroy virus definition updates.

Here is the full list of updates:

2013-06-19

Malware

- Banyan.iSafe

- Systweak.RegCleanPro (Proven As A False Positive)

PUPS

- Anchor.Hss

- Ask.MyGlobalSearch

- myPCBackup

- SweetIM

Spyware

- IronInstall.Toolbar.Amazon

Trojans

- Win32.Agent.Boleto

- Win32.Autorun.nwda

- Win32.Jorik.tcp

Total: 2589659 fingerprints in 804315 rules for 7013 products.

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To see the full list in it’s original glory please use the following link:
http://www.safer-networking.org/about/updates/

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If you would like to download Spybot – Search & Destroy please use the following link:
http://www.safer-networking.org/dl/

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Till The Next Spybot Update,

William

SUPERAntiSpyware (5.6.1020) Free Edition – Freeware Review

The Rating Scale Breakdown:

• 0  – 0.5 – Abysmal
• 1.0 – 1.5 – Terrible
• 2.0 – 2.5 – Poor
• 3.0 – 3.5 – Average
• 4.0 – 4.5 – Great
• 5.0 – Excellent

• Undetermined – Too soon to tell or lacking evidence to provide a solid answer
• Not Tested – Has yet to be requested or there is some limitations to prevent accurate test results
• N/A – Not Available and or Not Applicable to this program

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V. 5.5 A – “SAS” Freeware Review Template

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Price: Free

A. Installation SUPERAntiSpyware - 5.0 “Excellent” – Fast, Safe and Simple

B. Un-installing SUPERAntiSpyware – 3.5 “Average“ – No start menu un-install feature. But you can un-install using your Windows control panel.

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C. Stability Of Program - 5.0 “Excellent” – Absolutely no stability Issues

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D. Residential Shield Test – N/A – Not available In Free version

DD. Browser Hi-Jack And Registry Protection – N/A – Not available In Free version

DDD. System Repair Option – N/A – Not available In Free version

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E. Detection Rate Test:

E1. Windows XP – 5.0 “Excellent“

E2. Windows Vista – 5.0 “Excellent“

E3. Windows 7 - 5.0 “Excellent“

E4. Windows 8 – 5.0 “Excellent“

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F. Speed of Scan – 4.5 “Great“ – Scan times have been reduced by just under 50%. So what use to take me anywhere from 35 to 45 mins to perform a scan. Now clocks in at just over 20 to 30 mins.

FF. Scan Boost – 5.0 “Excellent” - This option seems to have vastly improved (yet again). So much so even my dual core computers have show at least a 10 to 20 mins differences between using regular or “Low Boost” as oppose to “High Boost” scanning options.

FFF. Types Of Different Scans Available - 5.0 “Excellent” - With 5 different types of scans to suite your fancy. SuperAntiSpyware has all the different types of scans you’ll need. For any job you want to tackle.

G.Update Manager – 4.5 “Great“ – Needs to be updated manually. But works like a charm with no lag at all. As SUPERAntiSpyware has implemented smaller definition updates. There are also a lot more definitions updates available to be manually updated.  Which is great to see.

H. Scan Logs – 3.5 “Average” – The logs could be quite a bit easier to read. But they are in the same league as most programs in this category.

I. SUPERAntiSpyware Support – 3.5 “Average“ – You have their “Customer Support Request Form” or “User Forum” options.

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My Overall Score: 59.5/65

91.5% = A +

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My Overall Outlook: SUPERAntiSpyware still remains an extremely effective anti-spyware / malware program. (Even in it’s free version package.) You are not choked to death with excessive over the top software limitations, like so many other freeware programs out there. You are still required to update SUPERAntiSpyware and you can still use it’s 5 different scanning options (minus of course the scan scheduler option).

The only 2 very minor downsides that I can see, are that you have to manually scan and manually update SuperAntiSpyware yourself. (But for most people that is not even a very big deal. Because we already do it anyways with so many other free programs such as Spybot and Malwarebytes.)

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My Final Verdict: I have to admit at first glance that SUPERAntiSpyware’s major overhaul and update had me wondering if this (5.6.1020) build was what I have been waiting for for a really long time. But in this case SUPERAntiSpyware (5.6.1020) update is nothing but a quick tweak. There really is nothing of note to be said of this very minor update to a program that is not only showing it’s age. But could use a few nice tweaks updates.

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Here is 1 link to download SUPERAntiSpyware Free Edition:

1.
http://www.superantispyware.com/download.html
(SUPERAntiSpyware Main Site)

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Return To The Main Reviews Page

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Till The Next Review,

Danny

NoScript (2.6.6.2) – Mozilla FireFox Add-on Review

NoScript (2.6.6.2)

A. Ease Of Use: 3/5 – Not as easy as it should be.

Often people just end up getting very frustrated with this add-on. Which often results in the person deactivating and or un-installing this add-on. But for the people who stick around long enough. End up having a very powerful tool to help stem the tide of pop-ups , banner ads and other Internet annoyances.

B. Security: 4/5 - NoScript is very helpful in securing your computer from a lot of seen and unseen Internet threats. All across the net during your day to day activities. This add-on will not impede your security. Instead it will boost it, if used correctly.

C. Usefulness: 5/5 – NoScript has enhanced my life on the net. By giving me more options to control my day to day Internet experience.

D. FireFox Slowdown: There is some lag (But will vary based on computer stats and your Internet connection)

E. Computer Slow Down: Some minor lag on older computers.

F. Type Of User I Would Recommend To Use This Add-on: A more advanced Firefox user, would find this add-on way more useful. Then a novice.

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Download Link:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/noscript/

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Return To The Main Reviews Page

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Till The Next Review,

Kirbe

AVG Internst Security 2013 (2013.0.3345) – Paidware Review

The Rating Scale Breakdown:

• 0  – 0.5 – Abysmal
• 1.0 – 1.5 – Terrible
• 2.0 – 2.5 – Poor
• 3.0 – 3.5 – Average
• 4.0 – 4.5 – Great
• 5.0 – Excellent

• Undetermined – Too soon to tell or lacking evidence to provide a solid answer
• Not Tested – Has yet to be requested or there is some limitations to prevent accurate test results

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Price: $49.99 USD/ $59.99 CAD – For 1 year and 1 PC

A. Installation AVG - 2.5 “Poor“ – This aspect of AVG has almost completely collapsed, in on itself. I am very sad to report that all thou AVG Free Anti-Virus 2013 is way better in the installation department. Then AVG Internet Security 2013.  Which without any reservations is an huge epic fail. On most systems.

B. Uninstalling AVG – 2.0 “Poor“ – AVG Internet Security 2013 is very sloppy uninstaller.

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C. Stability Of Program -  4.0 “Great” – Not as stable as AVG Free 2013. But way better then the early builds. I have reviewed prior to this one.

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D. Has AVG Free Been Compromised By Hackers Or Virus – 3.0 “Average” – Still quite a few issues reported. But mostly on older operating systems such as XP and Vista. Also a very common false positive has been fixed. That issue being the Auto-run Trojan when inserting new unformatted USB sticks.

E. Speed of Scan – 5.0 “Excellent“ – Very quick on most computers.

F. Updating - 3.5 “Average” – Automatic updating is fine. But if you want to manually update your AVG. Expect some epic slowness. I’m still not sure why. I have often run into times where it will stall on 30%, or 50% and it seem like forever before you get the 100% completed notice.

G. Does AVG Free Do Automatic Updates By Itself Without Any Issue - 5.0 “Excellent“ – Yes, you can now with, no doubt. But leave the manual update option alone unless you want to invite stability related issues.

H. Internet Browser Cookie Detection Rate And Removal Test – 2.0 “Poor“- You are way better off with something like SUPERAntiSpyware or CCleaner that is more dedicated to removal of Internet cookies. AVG Internet cookie detection rate is terrible even with the option active and checked off.

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1. Anti-Virus Detection Rate Test:

1A. Windows XP – 2.0 “Poor“

1B. Windows Vista – 3.0 “Average“

1C. Windows 7 -3.0 “Average“

1D. Windows 8 – 4.0 “Great“

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2. Residential Shield Test - 3.0 “Average“ – I still find AVIRA and AVAST seems to grab the virus way before AVG does.

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Computers Protection

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3A. Anti-Virus Scanner - 3.5 “Average” – AVG is barely scoring an average in this respect. And that should tell you a lot.

3B. Anti-Rootkit Scanner – 4.0 “Great” – Great option. Works well.

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Web Browsing Protection

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4A. Link Scanner – 4.5 “Great“ – Not a fan. But it can be very useful to some.

4B. Online Shield – 2.0 “Poor” – Completely in-effective and worthless.

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Identity Protection

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5A. Identity Protection - 2.0 “Poor” – Completely in-effective and worthless.

5B. Identity Alert – This feature appears to need a further upgrade. Beyond your main purchase of AVG Internet Security 2013.

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E-mail Protection

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6A. E-mail Scanner – 3.0 “Average” – Utterly baseline and average. I found no use for it.

6B. Anti-Spam – 3.0 “Average” – Utterly baseline and average. Not even worth the setup.

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Firewall

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7. Firewall – 5.0 “Excellent“ – By no means perfect. But way better then your standalone Windows built in Firewall

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Extra Features

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8. PC Analyzer (AKA. Fix Performance) – 0.5 “Abysmal“- If you don’t mind that you only can fix your errors for free once then great. But if you are like me and you probably feel this options is both somewhat misleading and out right bait to buy this extremely expensive add-on. Then you are probably with me on my conclusion.

9. Mobile Protection – N/A – This option is pretty much just a bullet point reminder. As you can download the AVG Free Smart Phone or Tablet app from the Google Play Store. Again let me make it clear even thou you have paid for AVG Internet Security 2013. You don’t get AVG Pro Smart Phone app.

10. Speed Test - 5.0 “Excellent” - I found this addition to be very useful and very accurate as well. If only all speed tests apps/programs and or sites were this worry free.

11. Tech Buddy Support – 0.0 “Abysmal” – This is just a money grab. Completely worthless as well as falsely advertised and very overall misleading.

12. AVG Direct Support – 0.5 “Abysmal” – With only a free forum and a phone number to call for support.

You will often find yourself ether being told to go to the free forum or they will recommend you go to further specialized support via Tech Buddy. Which like I said above is a MONEY GRAB. Completely worthless as well as falsely advertised and very overall misleading.

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My Overall Score: 75/125

60.0 % = C

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My Final Verdict - AVG Internet Security 2013 takes what it once was and flips it on its heads. Then presents itself as a new more user friendly version of its past iterations. “Well sorry guys, That won’t fly with me.”

This version of AVG and I’m talking about all AVG 2013 versions. Are clearly tailored first to Windows 8 and then to Windows 7. If you don’t have ether. Then you maybe as disappointed as I was. When I first upgraded from AVG Internet Security 2012.

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Till The Next Review,

Remy “Se7en”

AVG Free Anti-Virus 2013 (2013.0.3345) – Freeware Review

The Rating Scale Breakdown:

• 0  – 0.5 – Abysmal
• 1.0 – 1.5 – Terrible
• 2.0 – 2.5 – Poor
• 3.0 – 3.5 – Average
• 4.0 – 4.5 – Great
• 5.0 – Excellent

• Undetermined – Too soon to tell or lacking evidence to provide a solid answer
• Not Tested – Has yet to be requested or there is some limitations to prevent accurate test results

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Price: Free

A. Installation AVG - 3.0 “Average“ – This aspect of AVG has almost completely collapsed, in on itself. I am very sad to report that all thou AVG Free Anti-Virus 2013 is way better in the installation department. Then AVG Internet Security 2013.  Which without any reservations is an huge epic fail. On most systems.

B. Uninstalling AVG – 3.0 “Average” – AVG Free Anti-Virus is very sloppy un-installer.

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C. Stability Of Program – 4.5 “Great” – The UI (User Interface) is still can be slow to load up.

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D. Has AVG Free Been Compromised By Hackers Or Virus – 3.0 “Average” – Still quite a few issues reported. But mostly on older operating systems such as XP and Vista. Also a very common false positive has been fixed. That issue being the Auto-run Trojan when inserting new unformatted USB sticks.

E. Speed of Scan – 5.0 “Excellent“ – Very quick on most computers.

F. Updating - 3.5 “Average” – Automatic updating is fine. But if you want to manually update your AVG. Expect some epic slowness. I’m still not sure why. I have often run into times where it will stall on 30%, or 50% and it seem like forever before you get the 100% completed notice.

G. Does AVG Free Do Automatic Updates By Itself Without Any Issue - 5.0 “Excellent“ – Yes, you can now with, no doubt. But leave the manual update option alone unless you want to invite stability related issues.

H. Internet Browser Cookie Detection Rate And Removal Test – 2.0 “Poor“- You are way better off with something like SUPERAntiSpyware or CCleaner that is more dedicated to removal of Internet cookies. AVG Internet cookie detection rate is terrible even with the option active and checked off.

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1. Anti-Virus Detection Rate Test:

1A. Windows XP – 2.0 “Poor“

1B. Windows Vista – 3.0 “Average“

1C. Windows 7 – 3.0 “Average“

1D. Windows 8 – 4.0 “Great“

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2. Residential Shield Test - 3.0 “Average“ – I still find AVIRA and AVAST seems to grab the virus way before AVG does.

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Computers Protection

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3A. Anti-Virus Scanner - 3.5 “Average” – AVG is barely scoring an average in this respect. And that should tell you a lot.

3B. Anti-Rootkit Scanner – 4.0 “Great” – Great option. Works well.

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Web Browsing Protection

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4A. Link Scanner – 4.5 “Great“ – Not a fan. But it can be very useful to some.

4B. Online Shield – Not available In the Free Version

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Identity Protection

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5A. Identity Protection - Not available In the Free Version

5B. Identity Alert – Not available In the Free Version

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E-mail Protection

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6A. E-mail Scanner – 3.0 “Average” – Utterly baseline and average. I found no use for it.

6B. Anti-Spam - Not available In the Free Version

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Firewall

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7. Firewall - Not available In the Free Version

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Extra Features

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8. Fix Performance (AKA. PC Analyzer) – 0.5 “Abysmal“- If you don’t mind that you only can fix your errors for free once then great. But if you are like me and you probably feel this options is both somewhat misleading and out right bait to buy this extremely expensive add-on. Then you are probably with me on my conclusion.

9. Mobile Protection – N/A – This option is pretty much just a bullet point reminder. As you can download the AVG Free Smart Phone app from the Google Play Store.

10. Speed Test - 5.0 “Excellent” - I found this addition to be very useful and very accurate as well. If only all speed tests apps/programs and or sites were this worry free.

11. AVG Direct Support – 0.5 “Abysmal” – With only a free forum and a phone number to call for support.

You will often find yourself ether being told to go to the free forum or they will recommend you go to further specialized support via Tech Buddy. Which like I said above is a MONEY GRAB. Completely worthless as well as falsely advertised and very overall misleading.

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My Overall Score: 62/100

62 % = C

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My Final Verdict - AVG Free Anti-Virus 2013 takes what it once was good and flips it on its head. It presents itself as a new more user friendly version of its past AVG iterations. This version of AVG and I’m talking about all AVG 2013 versions. Are clearly tailored first to Windows 8 and then to Windows 7. If you don’t have ether. Then you maybe as disappointed as I was. When I first upgraded and switched over to AVG 2013.

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Return To The Main Reviews Page

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Till The Next Review,

Kirbe

WOT -Web Of Trust- (20130515) – Mozilla FireFox Add-on Review

WOT -Web Of Trust- (20130515)

A. Ease Of Use: 3/5 – Very easy to use. But very deceptive reporting practices overall.

B. Security: 3/5 - You will be more secure no doubt. But at what cost.

In the end it comes down to TRUST. Do you trust WOT (Web Of Trust) reporting of websites ? Or would you rather use one of the dozens of other link scanners out there.

C. Usefulness: 3/5 – The usefulness of WOT will depend on what you want to get out of it. I would highly recommend this to parents with younger kids. It is a very easy teaching tool to use with your kids (our even yourself). To try to figure out the basics of what sites to click on and what to more or less avoid.

For me as an advanced Internet user. I find it more annoying then anything. I also know some sites I go to. Don’t get the scores they deserve or don’t get approved at all.

D. FireFox Slowdown: There is still some lag (But will vary based on computer and Internet connection)

E. Computer Slow Down: No lag that I noticed. But FireFox does seem to use up more memory faster. When WOT is active and in use.

F. Type Of User I Would Recommend To Use This Add-on: Parents with kids or people new to the Internet.

As I suggested above. WOT is helpful at first. But after awhile people tend to get annoyed with it and turn it off. Also important to note is that more advanced users are more likely not to need this add-on at all. As they are well aware of what sites safe and what sites to avoid.

Firefox does a pretty good job at putting up (gateways and or portals) to sites that have been reported to Firefox as potentially dangerous. But often by the time that comes up it is to late for the end user.

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Download Link:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/wot-safe-browsing-tool/

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Till The Next Review,

Erin

Skype (6.5.0.158) Change Log

The following is the full change log for Skype’s new (6.5.0.158) build:

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File transfer - Cancel all doesn’t cancel file transfers

File transfer - Upon cancel of file transfer the transfer shows as successfully completed

File transfer - When one participant accepted file transfer, sender could not cancel the transfer

Network issues - Upon connection lost, no notification in call toolbar that the call was lost

Keyboard navigation - Add phone number not accessible with keyboard

Stability - Skype hangs when selecting offline contact and clicking on call phone

Stability - Skype crashes for some users upon exiting

Stability - Skype crashes for some users when tried to send a file

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Link To View Change Log:
http://blogs.skype.com/garage/windows/

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Link To Download Skype:
http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/get-skype/on-your-computer/windows/

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Till The Next Update,

William

New Skype (6.5.0.158) Build Is Now Available To Download

Dear Readers,

Ok, everyone there has been a brand new build of  Skype. Which came out (today) June 6th, 2013 and this would be version (6.5.0.158) for all of you who are still keeping track.

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Link To Download Skype:
http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/get-skype/on-your-computer/windows/

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Till The Next Update,

William

ImTranslator (5.5) – Mozilla FireFox Add-on Review

ImTranslator (5.5)

A. Ease Of Use: 4/5 – A very easy and straight forward add-on, but there are still some settings that can get a bit tedious to newer Firefox users.

B. Security: Not Applicable To This Add-on

C. Usefulness: 4/5 – Both my life as a member of the (CSW) team and my life on the net would be a lot harder without this add-on. If you ever wondered how to say something in another language, or even if you just ran into a site and or blog that is not in your own native tongue / language.

D. FireFox Slowdown: At times this add-on can really slow down  your Firefox.

E. Computer Slow Down: PC slowdown can occur on the very rare occasion. Often it will occur if you leave on this add-on active with in the FireFox browser, or if you have been in a FireFox session for quite a while and then decide you want to translate a large swath of text.

F. Type Of User I Would Recommend To Use This Add-on: Any level of Firefox user could benefit from this add-on.

Very Important Firefox Add-on Compatibility Note: The add-on NoScript (NoScript Review Link) will cause this add-on to crash or not work at all. You will need to add  imtranslator.net to your NoScript White list, which can be found in your Firefox add-ons. Go to the NoScript add-on. Highlight it, then go to options. Go to second tab called whitelist then add imtranslator.net. Then press Allow, and you can then close Firefox, and re-load it.Everything should then be good.

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Firefox Add-on Download Link:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/imtranslator/

Alternate Google Translator Site Link:
http://translate.google.com/

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Till The Next Review,

Kirbe