Ad-aware Plus 6
$26.95, from Lavasoft
www.lavasoft.de
Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
This upgraded version to the heavily used Ad-aware freeware program is worth the cost for peace of mind and the freedom from pop-up ads.
Under the hood, the latest version of Ad-aware takes on such emerging outrages as browser hijackers and dangerously official-looking Messenger ads.
It’s even better to pay another $4.95 for an “extended download” license that lets users keep updates as new schemes arise in the fertile minds of the creeps behind spyware, worms, Trojans and other Internet indecencies.
Ad-aware starts by scanning every file on the computer, looking for the thousands of cookies and “booby trap” mini-programs that attackers scatter about a hard drive.
These booby traps do things like watch your every keystroke, keep track of every Web site you visit and generate the ads streaming onto your machine.
This is complex stuff, such as rewrites to the sensitive system registry that is the backbone of Windows. Spyware goons even alter files that are part of Windows itself so that they do something nasty. These altered files, mainly of the DLL type, are dangerous for non-experts to fix.
Finally, an Ad-watch feature monitors all future computer sessions to head off new spyware and those horrible browser hijacks in which hackers change the browser’s home page and block users from restoring it.
TARGUS TORNADO
Chill pad quiets fussy laptop fans
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Here’s something cool for folks with laptops that get so hot that their noisy internal fans must run all the time.
Since one of the main reasons people buy laptops is to get away from the noise and clutter of desktops, Targus Inc. created the Targus Tornado Notebook Chill Mat. It’s a half-inch-thick silver box that fits beneath a laptop and has two small fans built in. Plug the device into a USB port for power, and the fans prove to be whisper-quiet yet capable of serious cooling.
It greatly reduces how often the laptop senses heat and activates its own fan. It’s $29.95 at www.targus.com (use the search word tornado).
ONLINE AUCTIONS
Programs keep bids in the game
If you think eBay auctions are fixed because somebody always seems to beat you on the next bid, think www.bidsniper.com.
BidSniper is a program not affiliated with eBay that runs in the background to monitor your pending bids and automatically ups the ante when a competing offer is made.
You set a maximum you’ll pay and the increments to raise, and the $12.95 BidSniper software keeps you in the game.
A competing product, BidSlayer (www.bidslayer.com), costs $14.99 and offers a 7-day free trial.
If you’re an eBay shopper, you should make either of these outfits an offer they can’t refuse.