drfung

Software Reviews by drfung

The reviews and opinions below are posted by SnapFiles visitors. They do not necessarily reflect our opinion, and they are solely based upon the experience of individual users.

ImgBurn

Decent product, be aware opencandy possible

Apparently Lightning UK! (publisher) has received criticism for bundling opencandy adware with the product, so at least check Imgburn's forum for the dialog for both sides of the story. I use the portable version as opposed to the installed one, and I detected no trace of adware in that. The product itself performs flawlessly, simple interface and sufficiently configurable. I've yet to make any coasters with it. Price: Free

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Avast Free Antivirus

Intrusive eula

While full featured, the EULA is too wide ranging (my opinion) in what it allows the software to do. If you are ok with that, then the product is effective. I recommend a custom installation and install only what you need to minimize the footprint. Price: Free

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Avira Free Antivirus

Conditionally very good

I say conditionally because there is some concern regarding Avira's collaboration with UniBlue and Ask. A web search will yield the concerns. However, if you do not install the Ask Toolbar feature, the product works well for a freebie. It's EULA is nowhere near as intrusive as some of the other free av out there, assuming of course, that you do not install the Ask feature. A nag screen reminder will state that you do not have full web protection, but realtime protection will be there. Price: Free

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Pale Moon

Very capable browser

I have been using the portable version of this browser for a few months now and have found the speed to be excellent. I have had no compatibility issues at all. Today it was updated to v15 and speed does appear to have increased. I have not performed detailed testing, it is just based on perception. Won't hurt to try the portable version - it does exactly what it should and stays portable - to the point where dropping the folder onto a Linux box makes it quite usable under Wine. They mean what they say about older hardware. It will not run on some machines, check the web page for the details. Price: Free

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Ashampoo Burning Studio Free

Replaced Nero with this

Very impressed with this software. Interface is excellent and have yet to burn any coasters, performance is terrific! Not much else to say, that's the bottom line - it does exactly what I expect and for free. I recommend a custom install so you can configure as you wish. (Have used with XP and Win7). Price: Free

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Belarc Advisor

Provided inaccurate information

This came highly recommended to me by a couple of people. I installed it expecting far more accurate information than it actually provided, especially in regard to the highly touted ability to provide license key information. Thinking that perhaps it was related to the specific machine that it was installed on, I therefore gave it a try on some other units, with completely erratic results. I can therefore not recommend it outside of something to "play with". I agree with what Rodger mentioned, regarding the installation requirement vs running as a portable app. Price: Free

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Dr.Web CureIt

A great tool

Well suited to perform either a 2nd opinion check of your system or for use against an active exploit. It's very adept at detecting and removing a considerable amount of the current crop of malware. Price: Free

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Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free

Works, but...

Will miss some of the more sophisticated exploits, rootkits and keyloggers. I stopped using it because a 2nd or 3rd scan with alternatives (always a good idea no matter what product is selected) picked up exploits that this missed. Price: Free

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Online Armor Free

Recommended

I was using Comodo CIS, firewall install only, however, I found it becoming somewhat heavy for what I was looking for and opted to search around for an alternative. The matousec site rating for Online Armor is very high, and the features / performance are great considering this is a free product. Rev 4.0.0.44 Price: Free

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SearchMyFiles

Needed a replacement for vista search

Downloaded this program (v1.15), and found it did what the native Vista search couldn't do - provide a simple interface to find files quickly with minimum end-user input. The references in an earlier review regarding cpu utilization may either have been addressed or the machine I use Vista on is sufficiently powerful for it not be affected. Definitely worth trying (works in XP also). Price: Free

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PDF-XChange Viewer

Does what Foxit achieved initially

AcroReader had become bloatware/security nightmare many years ago, and I had been using Foxit as a replacement, without complaint, until the latest v3.0 came along. Performance was down, and the license agreement coming up on installation is geared to the TOOLBARS, not the reader - they lost me right there - reminded me of RealPlayer (ouch). How about optionalize this more clearly guys? I went looking for alternatives and found PDF-XChange. Wow - back to what I want in a pdf reader, I'm impressed. I don't need any bells and whistles, I installed the "portable" version. I recommend you give it a try even if you are set on product x,y or z already, I think this product will impress, both in features and performance. Price: Free

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K-Lite Codec Pack (Full)

Can solve some issues

Provides a single solution for multiple file types. It does require some initial configuration beyond the standard installation to play dvd's I found (by default it's MPC did not play the audio until tweaked - see under View - Options). Even though it states the current version will run on 98/ME it will not. Find v2.88 for these systems. For those looking for a less "intrusive" player than comparable commercial ones, I'd say go for it. Price: Free

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7-Zip

Does the job nicely

This product has certainly improved and is now definitely a contender. I have moved from Power Archiver to IZarc and now to 7zip and find it works very well. Certainly something to try, by default it does NOT take over associations, you can do that in the options. Price: Free

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Autoplay Repair

Works as claimed

Autoplay was messed up for USB devices (two gibberish entries). TweakUI could not remove them, same for control panel file associations. Registry mods did not work. This program solved the issue immediately, though it requires dot-net be onboard. It did want to call home(?) however. (Notified and blocked by firewall). It gets the job done. Price: Free

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Eusing Free Registry Cleaner

Excellent utility

This was recommended to me, so I gave it a shot. I usually use EasyCleaner for registry maintenance because it has never "trashed" a machine on me. I have to say the Eusing product found a bit more than EasyCleaner and still has not trashed the machines I've used it on. Make sure you get the v1.1, previous version had an issue deleting some "Open With.." keys. Price: Free

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Software Reviews by drfung

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