Erik Larkin

Note: This review addresses v00.12.005 of the software.

JonDo anonymizes your connections using a proxy service, so that a Web site or other Internet destination won't be able to see where you're really coming from. But while the software is free, and there's also a free level of service, it'll still cost you a good deal of connection speed.

Note: This review addresses v2.3.0 of the software.

The JonDoFox utility creates a customized Firefox profile that automatically uses the separately installed JonDo program, as well as a number of privacy and security-themed Firefox addons, to allow for anonymous, protected surfing. It's a nicely configured setup that takes very little effort to set up--but using the JonDo option does mean dealing with a major slowdown.

The free version of DisplayFusion makes it easy to customize your desktop wallpaper with your own images. Select pictures from your own hard drive or pull them down from Flickr with this freebie. You can search for and preview shots from Flickr from within the program, and there are nice options for those with multiple monitors.

The straightforward progam window displays your monitor(s) in the top section, and you can click each one in turn to select an image for that monitor, or choose to have the background span both monitors. You can browse your own hard drive for pictures, but it's a good deal more fun to click the "Load from Flickr" button.

Note: This review addresses v1.1.1 of the software.

The DownThemAll addon for Firefox adds useful features for the inveterate downloader. Once installed, you'll get new options to use it instead of the regular Firefox download manager when you right-click a link or begin downloading a file.

Breevy allows for creating abbreviations that, when typed, can substitute in a block of text, launch a program, or open a Web site.

For example, you can create a 'sig' abbreviation that will automatically substitute your full e-mail signature for 'sig' when typed. Or an 'ffx' launcher that will fire up the Firefox browser when you type those three characters.

Note: This review addresses v3.1 of the software.

Comodo Internet Security includes both a firewall and an antivirus utility in its free package. While we can't speak for the firewall's effectiveness (we didn't test that feature), its antivirus component leaves much to be desired. In our rankings of free antivirus software, it landed at number six, last among the chart-makers.

Note: This review addresses v3.1 of the software.

Comodo Internet Security includes both a firewall and an antivirus utility in its free package. While we can't speak for the firewall's effectiveness (and although we didn't test that feature this time, previous unbundled versions have been excellent), its antivirus component leaves much to be desired. In our rankings of free antivirus software, it landed at number six, last among the chart-makers.

FireDaemon Pro allows you to take your PC a step closer to a server (or further configure your server) by running programs, scripts or batch files as Windows services. Windows generally handles services (or daemons) as behind-the-scenes applications that typically run all the time without a window. With Firedaemon Pro you can run a program in much the same way--so that it automatically restarts if it crashes, for instance.

FireDaemon Pro is an advanced tool for those familiar with Windows services who need a high degree of control over how and when a program runs. If that's you, you'll find a host of options for your created service, such as defining a time schedule for your service, choosing other dependent services that should be started before yours, and choosing actions to perform (such as restarting) if and when the service shuts down.

PC Tune-Up scans your registry for some of the leftover junk that's inevitably left behind by uninstalled programs and the like, and also offers to add registry optimizations that can purportedly speed tasks such as hard disk access. But it fails to provide necessary info on just what it's doing so you can gauge its success (or lack thereof).

A user-friendly Quick Start makes it easy to run through four steps, for registry backup, problem scanning, repair and defrag (there's actually also a not-shown fifth step for optimization).

Note: This review addresses the 2009 version of the software.

DriverScanner takes a good deal of the pain out of finding and updating old drivers, which can help improve system stability and performance.

Identity Finder Home Edition searches your computer for sensitive personal information, such as credit card numbers, and then offers you options for deleting or securing that data. It can dig into different file types, such as PDFs or Microsoft's .doc format, as well as into browsers' stored form data and saved passwords.

For certain data types--such as credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, bank accounts and passwords--Identity Finder can search automatically for the data without your having to first type in each item. It can also search for other types of information, such as a driver's license number or your mother's maiden name, but you'll have to first type those in.

The Babylon translation tool can quickly translate text, documents, and Web pages to and from a variety of languages, and can (for text selections, but not Web pages) automatically recognize the original language. But its extra convenience compared with free online tools such as Google Translate may not be worth the steep $100 price tag.

You can use Babylon for a short, 2-day free trial, but if you choose the Quick install option you may get much more than you bargained for. By default, it will change your browser home page and your default search engine to Babylon, and will install a toolbar packed full of unrelated ad links (such as "Ringtones" and "Games"). You can choose the custom install option to de-select these obnoxious practices.