AVANT BROWSER

=Currently My Browser of Choice with Mozilla's Firefox being my other browser that I use on my system. Although the  Internet Explorer is always installed as it is part of the windows operating system, you do not have to use it! For anyone that has ever had a problem with spyware/malware, you should be changing your browsing habits and that MUST start with the choice of web browser. This browser is by far the most user-friendly and as they promote, 'the worlds fastest web browser' so what are you waiting for?  Download it now! The Avant Browser is very user friendly.

FIREFOX As mentioned above, I suggest installing both Avant Browser and the Firefox browser.  Although the Avant Browser is completely "Internet Explorer compatible" with most websites, they will believe you are using the Internet Explorer. There are times, especially if you are producing web pages, where you will want to confirm your pages look good and so having a second browser installed is a good idea. This way you NEVER have to use the Internet Explorer. Since the Internet Explorer is part of the Windows operating system, it will always be the most widely used browser but this doesn't mean you have to use it! The Firefox browser has many 'plug-ins' making this a very compatible browser for all your advanced needs and for that reason I suggest those that are not looking for advanced features to stick with the Avant Browser.

X-SETUP="Tweak" your computer and get the most performance. Do you have files in the ADD/REMOVE folder that no longer exist but the names are still there? This program will remove those as well as fix many other items. Visit their website for more information and updates.

SPYBOT SEARCH & DESTROY =Much like Ad-aware only more advanced as well, it has the ability to repair those registry entries that have been changed due to the spyware software that has hijacked your computer. Visit their website here for updates and information.

AD-AWARE=One of the original anti-spyware programs and one that should be used on a regular basis has a new version "2008" release.  Visit their website for updates and more information.

SPYWAREBLASTER=Prevent spyware from installing in the first place! Visit their website for more information and updates..

JavaRA=a simple tool that does a simple job: it removes old and redundant versions of Java. Visit their website here.

REG-CLEANER=it is what it says it is. Good way to check what is there without having to worry about making a mistake as it makes backups of your registry for you.

CCLEANER  = yet another great tool for doing serious deep cleaning of "crap", thus the name. Visit their website here.

SysJewel Check what is under the hood (in your case). Description:   SysJewel is a cute little tool for System Administrators which can be used to gather the complete information about your system. It can be used to gather information of a local system or of a remote system. SysJewel collects system information from the complete list of hardware including the Input Devices, Mass Storage Devices, Mother Board, Controllers, Ports, BIOS, Networking Devices, Power Devices, Printers, Modems, Video Controllers, Cooling Device all in a very detailed way.

What used to be AIDA32-Freeware hardware diagnostics and memory benchmarking solution for home PC users, based on the award-winning EVEREST Technology. It offers the world's most accurate hardware information and diagnostics capabilities, including memory benchmarks, hardware monitoring, and low-level hardware information. Note this software is no longer available on their website however they say they will continue to support.. therefore you must choose the last version they made which is available by clicking on the Everest icon or HERE.

BELARC Advisor-Much like Everest but still part of my arsenal since it has some features such as windows update file/patch indicator. With the many patches we are hopefully retrieving with the automatic windows updates, this will let you know if they were installed and are working correctly.

HIJACK THIS  Use this to remove many spyware entries from your Internet Explorer/Computer start up. More information on how to use this can be found here.

  The xp-AntiSpy program is a little utility that lets you disable some built-in update and authentication 'features' in Windows XP. **new features now works for Vista! (in beta but so far no problems)
For example, there's a service running in the background which is called 'Automatic Updates'. I don't know what this service transfers from my machine to other machines on the internet, especially the MS ones. So I play it safe and disable such functions. If you like, you can even disable these functions manually, by going through the System and checking or de-selecting some checkboxes. This will take you approximately half an hour. But why waste time when a little neat utility can do the same in 1 minute? This utility was successfully tested by lots of users, and was found to disable all the known 'Suspicious' Functions in Windows XP. It's customizable, but comes up with the Default settings, which are recommended. Visit the website here.

AUTORUNS-This utility, which has the most comprehensive knowledge of auto-starting locations of any startup monitor, shows you what programs are configured to run during system bootup or login, and shows you the entries in the order Windows processes them. These programs include ones in your startup folder, Run, RunOnce, and other Registry keys. You can configure Autoruns to show other locations, including Explorer shell extensions, toolbars, browser helper objects, Winlogon notifications, auto-start services, and much more. Autoruns goes way beyond the MSConfig utility bundled with Windows Me and XP. Visit the website here.

AVG Antispyware Now Vista Compatible! This one finds things that both Spybot and Ad-Aware miss and there is nothing wrong with having yet another anti-spyware scanner installed on your system to combat the bugs!. As much as this program works great in the scanning, having this or any other 'resident scanner' will only slow down your overall performance of your computer (read my OPTIMIZING TIP for more).