Belatucadrus

Software Reviews by Belatucadrus

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.

CCleaner

Not happy with new version install package

I've been using ccleaner for years it's long been on my list of must have software, cleans the system checks registry, all good stuff. But this latest update crossed the line BIGTIME, downloaded the latest version updated as per usual using customise then things get weird I get popups telling me Windows security has been deactivated then another telling me avast! is my security program. I start thinking "What the Hell" as I neither downloaded nor at any point authorised the installation of avast! Other users on a forum I use have had the same problem. Now I know avast! purchased Piriform and may if they want bundle the two together but as things stand there is no mention of this on the website. I have to admit that when I backtracked and went through the installation slowly it does mention avast! on the opening splash screen which I didn't notice and it comes with install avast! preselected but if you as I did click customise there's no additional mention of it in the install process. This is a sneaky underhanded crappy way of foisting stuff on people and if this is how they plan on doing business I'll be using another piece of software. Many people will be wondering what I'm on about having installed this update with no problem, these are the people with third party anti virus. For these users the splash screen is exactly as normal. If you're using Windows Defender the default setting of the installer is now to overrule your choice of settings and apply their choice. Price: Free

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Avast Free Antivirus

It still provides good protection, but !

I've been using avast! for years I used to recommend it when asked without hesitation but recent developments are getting me to consider alternatives. It still works well and provides excellent protection BUT the software is getting more like AdWare by the week with ever increasing pop-ups nagging you to upgrade or buy something else add to that the inclusion of a new browser that it don't want and didn't ask for and the irritations are piling up. Price: Free

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Panda Free Antivirus

I know it's beta but this is real bare bones.

I can't offer comment on its efficiency as beyond a copy of the eicar test virus I have nothing to check it with. Being a "cloud" program you need to be online during the scan to really benefit from the latest data, though it does store a local cache copy of Collective Intelligence for offline operation. So what's wrong with it ? it's incredibly basic a green indicator to show if everything's OK, a manual scan command button and that's pretty much it, no scheduler and no indication as to age of the Cache Copy. There is also no indication that it monitors email and the FAQ page isn't illuminating. So at the moment I'd class it as an interesting concept, but unless you like playing with Beta security probably best to stick with one of the established players for the moment. Price: Free

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PC Health Optimizer Free Edition

Good in general, but i have issues with it.

It's a nice general purpose suite of cleanup/fixup tools, some of which are very good. But I have a real issue with the Privacy and Security modules: the clean Internet browser settings are a bit basic, there's no option to keep any cookies you may need, it just wipes the lot. I also have grave doubts as to the effectiveness of the Spyware cleaner, if you go through the manual update procedure, you're advised that the update is complete and there's a window that notes when you last "updated" But the number of signatures loaded in the database has remained resolutely fixed at 77,614 for a long time. Despite going through the motions, there is no evidence that the update has actually achieved anything, indeed rather the contrary. Now whether this is due to a buggy update system, or severe lack of support from Retinax I don't know, but it means the Spyware module appears to be pretty near useless. Price: Free

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Revo Uninstaller

Proved its worth very quickly

I had a couple of bits on the PC that were persistent in the extreme, defying all attempts by Windows uninstall and a couple of other programs to eradicate them. Revo not only deleted them, it cleaned up registry entries afterwards. For this alone I'd give it five, but the system tune utilities and space eraser work fine as well, a very nice bit of kit to have. Price: Free

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AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition

It's good, but

I've been using various generations of AVG free off and on for some years now and while it's a very good anti virus I have issues with the update system. For cost reasons the updates for the free versions are hosted on cheaper servers than the paid for variant, which is fair enough. But some of the update files are pretty big and the less than ideal connection can be problematic. The scheduled scan is also a bit short on choices, nothing or every day and I don't know many people that run a full scan on a daily basis, so it's a bit of a non choice. My main machines use avast! which I rate highly, but my old W98 machine has been forced to an alternative by the need for license compliance and an easy second on my freebie AV list is AVG. Price: Free

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Wink

Wish I'd known about this earlier

All those tedious hours spent reminding people how to use bits on our purchase/Accounts package. A couple of minutes knocking up a Wink tutorial and I could have left them to sort it out themselves, much less stress. Absurdly easy to use, if you have a regular staff turnover in a PC intensive environment just check out this gem you'll start wondering how you ever did without it. Price: Free

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Dr.Web CureIt

Useful anti virus/malware tool

On the face of it this is a useful tool to have if you need something portable to scan other systems with. It does have a nag screen and the update link isn't to anything incremental, it just downloads the latest version. Seems faster and more comprehensive than ClamWin portable, I've not been able to check its efficiency as a scanner or cleaner but the ICSA rating indicates it should be capable enough. Nice backup tool, hope they improve the update system though. Price: Free

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RegSeeker

Beware the updated version

I used to be a real RegSeeker fan, years of use with no problems, then I put on the latest version. It's way too aggressive and caused problems that required a System Restore to correct. Eusing doesn't have the range of ancillary features and it does have that annoying nag screen, but as a registry cleaner it's less problematic than the version of RegSeeker currently available. RegSeeker needs refining if only to get it back to where it was, at the moment the new improved version isn't. Price: Free

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OpenOffice

Who needs office ?

OpenOffice 2 is a remarkable package and completely open source with no license limitations, have as many copies as you like for nothing ! For most people it'll do all they want from an office suite and more. I install on all my PCs and I'd love to give it five but for a few small niggles. 1) No grammar check and lord knows I need one, if Microsoft can fit one in the feeble Works package, surely Sun and the open source community can do it ? 2) the database is a huge improvement, but it's not up to Access standard yet, some of the form design tools for example are a pain in the posterior. Office is a good suite, but it's overblown, overspecced and overpriced, try OpenOffice instead it's well worth the effort. Price: Free

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Advanced SystemCare Free

Tries to be all things and isn't .

This is a useful little program with some very good features, perhaps too many as some appear to be cosmetic and rather ineffectual. Take the "Spyware scan" so rapid that to describe it as cursory would be chronically overstating things, either do it properly or don't bother. The Security defence on the other hand is pretty good, though it can cause hiccups if you've got SpywareBlaster installed. Being similar in function they not surprisingly have different lists and Windowscare can frequently disable SpywareBlaster killbits. The other features seem to work well, though the privacy sweep can occasionally muck up Firefox page formatting, clearing cache remedies this. I'd describe it as a very useful general maintenance tool, but with delusions of grandeur that could lead newbies to think they're more protected than they really are. Fortunately the development seems pretty rapid and it can only get better. Price: Free

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PC Tools AntiVirus Free Edition

Not really good enough yet

I like testing freebies and have experience of avast!, AVG, Antivir, Komodo and even ClamWin. So I was interested to see another option on the list and put it on my test machine. It didn't stay there long, while fully featured with a nice interface, it has enormous RAM requirements, taking between four and five times as much as similar avast! installations. It also gave me a less than satisfactory Internet experience, frequently bringing FireFox and IE to a complete halt. As it stands it's got all the bits you need but is badly flawed and until they sort out its' RAM hog tendencies and the browser problem, isn't going to cut it when compared with the other usual free offerings and I really pity anybody who coughed up for the Paid version. Price: Free

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Software Reviews by Belatucadrus

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