It has been quite a few months since I took a look at the list of different software maintained here, as a part of Check your software versions here. Overtime, the original lists
8-)
Now to get the hands dirty (and perhaps get called a few names).
Take the case of EmsiSoft Anti-Malware free. While it is a fantastic piece of Anti-Malware ever, it doesn’t do anything better than what SuperAntiSpyware free and Malwarebytes AntiMalware free can do. I mean EmsiSoft Anti-Malware has never found some hidden piece of crap which the SAS and MBAM haven’t been able to find, at least in the PCs which I came across. Thus either 2 of the 3 programmes should be enough to take safe care of a normal user. Now SAS is about 16 MB and MBAM is about 10 MB to download. Compare them with EmsiSoft Anti-Malware which is a whopping 120 MB to download. Do you see what I mean?
Similarly the updated, still being developed and slick Microsoft Sysinternals Autoruns has come a long way in two years, completely outdating the Malwarebytes StartUpLite. There is no way that StartUpLite would ever catch something Autoruns has missed and since Autoruns is much more capable, it is pointless to run StartUpLite instead, anymore.
The PC Tools Firewall Plus free is no more after version 7.0.0.223 or so. There is a PC Tools Internet Security Suite, but no more new versions of free personal Firewall. Which isn’t surprising if we care to recall that PC Tools was taken over by Symantec in 2008.
Though the Agnitum Outpost Security Suite Pro has taken the number two position in the tests by matousec.com and it does have a free version and should be a logical replacement for PC Tools Firewall Plus, I honestly cannot recommend it as of now. You see, Agnitum Outpost Security Suite free version lags several instances below whatever is their current Pro version. As of this writing the free version is 7.1 versus the pro version 7.5 which passed the matousec tests.
:-P
Colony West DigestIT 2004 is one of the best freeware file integrity validation tool - an MD5 or SHA1 checker. But the freeware LopeSoft FileMenu Tools includes ‘checksum verification’ and quite a lot of other tweaks to the ‘context menu’ of the Windows Explorer. Again, it is pointless to install DigestIT 2004, if we are going to go with LopeSoft FileMenu Tools.
To be fair, Freemake Video Converter is a wonderful software, with the most user friendly and intuitively designed controls I’ve ever come across. But for snipping, mixing and rehashing videos, it comes no where near Avidemux. Thus Avidemux takes its place as my preferred and recommended video editor.
And Digeus Registry Cleaner is going to go off the list because it is not a freeware, though you can keep removing 5 errors per run, till the cows come home.
While the famed Apache OpenOffice is back and takes its place alongside the LibreOffice suite, there is no way that I can still keep myself away from recommending online storage solution with the advent of Google Drive.
So the Latest Versions page has been updated accordingly.
- 12 Security tools for Windows has sprung a couple more to list 15 tools; and
- 24 Essential utilities for Windows has bloated up to include a whopping 37 utilities.
- been outdated; or
- been superseded by better, easier to work with alternates; or
- been rendered obsolete by technical developments; or
- become superfluous.
8-)
Now to get the hands dirty (and perhaps get called a few names).
Take the case of EmsiSoft Anti-Malware free. While it is a fantastic piece of Anti-Malware ever, it doesn’t do anything better than what SuperAntiSpyware free and Malwarebytes AntiMalware free can do. I mean EmsiSoft Anti-Malware has never found some hidden piece of crap which the SAS and MBAM haven’t been able to find, at least in the PCs which I came across. Thus either 2 of the 3 programmes should be enough to take safe care of a normal user. Now SAS is about 16 MB and MBAM is about 10 MB to download. Compare them with EmsiSoft Anti-Malware which is a whopping 120 MB to download. Do you see what I mean?
Similarly the updated, still being developed and slick Microsoft Sysinternals Autoruns has come a long way in two years, completely outdating the Malwarebytes StartUpLite. There is no way that StartUpLite would ever catch something Autoruns has missed and since Autoruns is much more capable, it is pointless to run StartUpLite instead, anymore.
The PC Tools Firewall Plus free is no more after version 7.0.0.223 or so. There is a PC Tools Internet Security Suite, but no more new versions of free personal Firewall. Which isn’t surprising if we care to recall that PC Tools was taken over by Symantec in 2008.
Though the Agnitum Outpost Security Suite Pro has taken the number two position in the tests by matousec.com and it does have a free version and should be a logical replacement for PC Tools Firewall Plus, I honestly cannot recommend it as of now. You see, Agnitum Outpost Security Suite free version lags several instances below whatever is their current Pro version. As of this writing the free version is 7.1 versus the pro version 7.5 which passed the matousec tests.
:-P
Colony West DigestIT 2004 is one of the best freeware file integrity validation tool - an MD5 or SHA1 checker. But the freeware LopeSoft FileMenu Tools includes ‘checksum verification’ and quite a lot of other tweaks to the ‘context menu’ of the Windows Explorer. Again, it is pointless to install DigestIT 2004, if we are going to go with LopeSoft FileMenu Tools.
To be fair, Freemake Video Converter is a wonderful software, with the most user friendly and intuitively designed controls I’ve ever come across. But for snipping, mixing and rehashing videos, it comes no where near Avidemux. Thus Avidemux takes its place as my preferred and recommended video editor.
And Digeus Registry Cleaner is going to go off the list because it is not a freeware, though you can keep removing 5 errors per run, till the cows come home.
While the famed Apache OpenOffice is back and takes its place alongside the LibreOffice suite, there is no way that I can still keep myself away from recommending online storage solution with the advent of Google Drive.
So the Latest Versions page has been updated accordingly.
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