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Best Software

Software Product of the Year, Best Freeware

Lavasoft Ad-aware: Ad-supported software (like the sponsored mode of Eudora) has been around for years, but as software companies struggled to survive last year, many took ad support to new heights. That's how adware--software that downloads advertising while you use the associated application or at random--was born. This insidious trade, in which adware skulks onto your hard drive and can invade your privacy online, has proliferated, frustrating more than a few Internet users. Some people call such programs spyware, because in some cases they permit advertisers to continuously monitor your online activities.

There wasn't much anyone could do about adware until Lavasoft created Ad-aware, a simple, free program that scans your computer for the telltale files that adware plants on your system--and deletes them. Ad-aware regularly offers users fresh reference files that enable the program to find the latest spyware to invade their system, much as virus definition files help antivirus software clean up Windows. A one-of-a-kind utility, Ad-aware does its job quickly and efficiently (much to the chagrin of spyware makers), and it has become an indispensable tool in the fight for online privacy.

Best Operating System

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition (home), Windows 2000 Professional (business): For home users familiar with the Blue Screen of Death in Windows 98 or Me, Windows XP ($199, $99 upgrade) is a revelation--an operating system that can go for weeks without crashing. Of course, Windows 2000 Professional ($319, $219 upgrade), built on the same core, has offered similar stability for over two years. Windows 2000 makes sense for most businesses, since Microsoft has had more time to work out the kinks in the software. But home users will like XP's compatibility with games and other home apps, and its ability to handle images and audio.

Best Web Browser

Microsoft Internet Explorer 6: Despite serious competition from Netscape and Mozilla, Internet Explorer remains Web developers' primary target in compatibility tests. That helps IE 6 pull up almost any Web site without a hiccup, and it's a big part of the reason we name it Best Web Browser.

Best Application Suite

Microsoft Office XP: Indispensable--enough said.

Best Utility Suite

Symantec Norton SystemWorks 2002: This $70 suite meets your utility needs, including file recovery, disk scanning, and antivirus.

Best Backup Utility

Stomp BackUp MyPC: Let's face it: Backing up your data is no fun. That's why our Best Backup Utility selection is a $79 program that makes the process as painless as possible.

Best Stand-Alone Utility

PowerQuest PartitionMagic: Okay, so you don't repartition your hard drive every day. Still, it's hard to find a utility that handles a complex task better than the $70 PartitionMagic.

Best Firewall

Tie: Sygate Personal Firewall Pro 5, Zone Labs ZoneAlarm Pro 3: Broadband users need a good firewall, and these products--priced at $40 and $50, respectively--excelled in our tests (see " Protect Your PC").

Best Antivirus

Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2002: Also tops in our tests was Symantec's $50 Norton AntiVirus 2002, a fine choice for PC virus protection.

Best E-Mail

Pegasus Mail 4: Powerful and intuitive mail-filtering rules, a new Outlook-style three-pane interface, and fewer worm threats than the big boys face make the free Pegasus our pick.

Best Remote Access

Netopia Timbuktu Pro: Simple and reliable, the $160 Timbuktu Pro offers plenty of options for remotely controlling your PCs.

Best Instant Messaging

Cerulean Studios Trillian: Tired of keeping three instant messaging clients on your machine? Trillian lets you talk to AIM, ICQ, or MSN members, and it's free.

Best Image Editing

Adobe Photoshop 7: The gold standard in image editing software. For $609, this year's version adds new painting tools and a helpful "healing brush" for touching up scans and photos.

Best Desktop Publishing

Adobe InDesign 2: QuarkXPress has been the standard in publishing for years; but Adobe's $699 InDesign has more-powerful features.

Best Drawing

Corel CorelDraw 10: Its easy interface and capable Photo-Paint image editor give Corel's $549 application the edge over Adobe's Illustrator.

Best Presentation

Serious Magic Visual Communicator: PowerPoint remains the standard for, well, PowerPoint-style presentations, but this $150 video presentation package is simply amazing.

Best Video Editing

Pinnacle Systems Studio 7: The $99 Studio 7 provides versatile editing options without Adobe Premiere-like complexity.

Best Web Design

Macromedia Dreamweaver 4: Macromedia's $399 Web editor boasts stellar layout tools and application development features; the new Dreamweaver MX, due in mid-June, integrates with Macromedia's other Web tools.

Best Personal Finance

Intuit Quicken 2002: Improved online-banking and portfolio management tools cover your personal finances even better than last year's version.

Best Business Accounting

Intuit QuickBooks 2002: An enhanced find feature makes locating transactions easier, and new support for third-party filters increases QuickBooks' appeal for various businesses.

Best CD Burning

Stomp Click'N Burn: With a powerful and intuitive interface, the $50 Click'N Burn covers all your CD-burning bases.

Best Game

Infogrames Civilization III: Spend $50 and conquer the world with this latest installment in Sid Meier's classic Civilization series.

Best PDA Software

Blue Nomad WordSmith: Rich formatting options, high-res fonts on color displays, and a dictionary and thesaurus give this $30 word processor for Palms Word-like power.