When you have a powerful dual core CPU and 2GB of memory or more, there's no real need to optimize your Windows to get more performance out of it, because I am sure you won't get a big improvement, but there are a lot of annoyances to remove, like the low disk space warning. Also, you can always tweak your network interfaces to get the best out of your Internet connection, and it doesn't stop here.

Anyway, we'll talk about the features later, because I didn't even name the program I have under my scope so far. Since we're having a system optimization suite here, this is more than just "a program", and its name should say it all: TweakNow PowerPack 2006.

Setup

Don't worry, this is not an old program, despite its name. The last version of TweakNow PowerPack 2006, 1.80, was released 2 days ago, so this application is really hot. The 15 days trial version available for download on the official site allows you to experience the registered version's features for this period, and the only annoyance I found are some nag screens that appear here and there, but not as often as I've seen in other trial/demo programs.












<-125x125 Button - left->The setup package has almost 5MB in size, and it also includes TweakNow RegCleaner Pro, a program that can be launched from within PowerPack's main window, or by using its own entry in the Programs group, located together with TweakNow PowerPack 2006, of course. While installing this suite I had no problem, as you can see above. The only strange thing I found is a useless install mode selection screen - the Full, Custom and Compact modes install exactly the same files and need the same amount of free space...

Interface

Most optimization suites look great, and that's what can be said about TweakNow PowerPack 2006...but only at first sight. In my opinion, it would have been much better to have a menu with all the areas of the program in the left side, where the Special Tools and Miscellaneous Tools are located now. In the Main Page, icons that link directly to various tools (Process Manager or Startup Manager) are mixed with the ones that lead to other pages, like Windows Enhancement or System Optimizer, making the entire interface a bit confusing. Also, the banner above the workspace is too large, taking up precious space that could be used to organize the tools better.

Features

The feature that beginners should love is the one called 1-Click Windows Optimization. Despite the fact you'll have to click more than once to finish optimizing your computer, you'll save a lot of time, compared to the classical approach. Using this quick optimization mode, you have to select a single button to enable Windows optimization, choose the method of network optimization to apply and, at last, select the temporary files to clean (Windows temporary folder and IE temporary folder are the only options available). When you are happy with your choices, just hit the "Optimize Now!" button. Pretty easy, after all, don't you think?

Of course that the power of a system tweaking suite is not given by its quick optimization or cleaning tools, but by the power and amount of additional tools that allow you to change system settings manually.

Apart from features that I consider "normal" to such software suites, like the Process Manager of RAM Optimizer, I was happy to find that TweakNow PowerPack 2006 lets you enable virtual desktops, allowing you to have up to 4 desktops active at once.

The System Information area doesn't provide information as detailed as EVEREST, but it's pretty good, and you can also use it to save reports about your hardware, but only to TXT files.

While working with the program, I noticed the workflow problems I mentioned already in the "Interface" section. Each time you pick a tool, a new window opens, and sometimes you have to move through various tabs to find what you're looking for. All in all, I've seen better, as well as worse, so there's nothing to be extatic about or worry too much, either. Let's draw the conclusions now, shall we?

The Good

TweakNow PowerPack 2006 is a worthy system tweaking and cleaning suite, considering its price and good amount of features. Despite its minor interface issues, everybody should be able to use it without getting a headache.

The Bad

While the features and price are more than OK, what pulls down this program is its interface. I would like to see a better one in the future, because I am sure TweakNow can do it! Also, I don't think it's fair to pay 15$ more only to get support for Vista and Windows 2000 Professional.

Conclusion

TweakNow PowerPack 2006 is available in two versions, XP and Professional, the only difference being the support for different Windows versions, as I just mentioned above, and my final thoughts about it are closely related to this fact. While I consider that the XP Edition is worth its price and can prove really helpful for Windows XP users, I think that the Professional Edition is not worth its money yet. Anyway, it's always good to try before deciding to buy, so go ahead and give TweakNow PowerPack 2006 a try!

Developer: TweakNow
Price: 34.95$
Trial Link: Download

Microsoft has released a new security patch for Windows Live and MSN Messenger.
This is available for MSN Messenger versions 6.2, 7.0 and 7.5, and Windows Live Messenger 8.0.

When users login to their account on Windows Live Messenger they are guided through the upgrading process to obtain the 8.1 version.

Similar to Yahoo Messenger and Skype, Windows Messenger is confronting with malicious code in chat invitations.

Windows highlighted in its security bulletin, the fact that "If you do not upgrade to a non-affected version of the MSN Messenger or Windows Live Messenger client, depending on your platform, you will be notified to upgrade on each attempt to sign on" and "If you do not accept the upgrade, you may not be allowed access to MSN Messenger or Windows Live Messenger service."

If I would live in a house and have a dog, that would surely make my nights peaceful. After all, I wouldn't have to wonder "what's that noise" often, because Rex (or another dog name) would be on alert in case somebody unwanted gets on my territory. Since I am living in a 2 bedroom on the 4th floor and the area is pretty calm, I don't have to worry about burglers, but I have enough worries with my computer...

Well, since we can't actually place a dog next to our computer to stop intruders, a software solution for this security problem is the best choice. Even better, today's found is a "software watch dog", called Scotty, but the program that uses it as "computer guardian" is called WinPatrol.

Setup

The last version of this program is 12, build 5, and despite the fact that the current version is known as WinPatrol 2007 version 12, build 5, I'll only call it WinPatrol, to make things easier. WinPatrol is available to try for as long as you like, but the version you can get for free has disabled some really useful features, so if you like what you get for free, you should grab the PLUS version, for a one time payment of 29.95$.












<-234x60 Half Banner - left->To my amazement, the setup package is really small, having less than 700KB in size. Considering this fact, the installation of the program couldn't have been something hard to do either. In fact, installing WinPatrol is even easier than I expected. Just look at the screenshots above and you'll see that I'm right!

Interface

While you don't get a watch dog because it's a beautiful animal or not, it's always nice to get a good looking software on your computer, no matter its purpose. I remember that last time I tried WinPatrol, less than 2 years ago, its interface didn't look too good in my eyes, but now things have changed. Despite the fact you don't have to spend much time using the main window of this application, WinPatrol has nice graphics, and its options are well organized. A contextual help system seems to be missing, but this can be solved, in time...

Features

Because I usually like to find out the interesting news first and leave the non-essential ones at the end, I'll tell you about the best new feature of WinPatrol 2007, called Delayed Start.

We all have lots of programs loading with Windows, and that adds to the time we need to wait until our system becomes available. I know it sounds incredible, but I've seen computers that need up to 10-15 minutes to finish loading all those dozens of applications that are completely useless, in most cases. Of course that, for most computers, some programs need to be loaded at startup (the antivirus and firewall, for example), while others can wait (Skype, YM or Daemon Tools). With Delayed Start, you can delay the startup of this programs up to an hour, so your system will be all yours faster.











Since Delayed Start sounds great, but doesn't do much for your protection, hear this: WinPatrol can detect the creation of new auto-startup items, as well as registry changes and show all the hidden files, so you can easily find malware trying to hide.The areas that allow you to take care of the tasks mentioned above have names that should say it all - Active Tasks, Cookies, Startup Programs, IE Helpers or Schedules Tasks.At last, inside the Options area you get rewarded with access to the Hosts file, the ability to quickly create a Hijack log (a file that contains all the data needed by a security expert to tell you if your computer is infected or not). One useful feature that is often forgot by software producers is the possibility to backup the settings of the program to a registry (REG) file, so you can quickly restore them or use same settings on another computer.

The Good

WinPatrol is a very powerful tool that's not really hard to use, looks good and can save you from a plethora of problems. The price of the PLUS version is pretty good, considering that you get real-time infiltration detection and instant detection of newly created undocumented or hidden registry startup keys.
If you are worried about compatibility, it's my pleasure to inform you that WinPatrol works with all Windows versions, from Windows 1995 to Vista.

The Bad

To make this program easy to use by beginners, a better built in help system would be great.

Conclusion

When working with lots of applications, you system files are modified frequently, so malicious software can invade you unseen any time. With Scotty on guard, you'll have less to worry about, so click the download link below, install this excellent program and don't forget to share with us your thoughts!

Developer: BillP Studios
Price: 29.95$
Trial Link: Download

On September 8, AliveMedia published Alive YouTube Video Converter, a professional tool for download videos from YouTube.com and Google and convert them into usual formats like AVI, MPEG, MP4, DivX, XviD, 3GP, WMV, VOB, QuickTime MOV, ASF, iPod, iPhone, PSP, Zune, Mobile Phone, Archos, iRiver, Creative Zen Vision, Sandisk Sansa, MP3, AAC, M4A, AC3.



You can also burn the videos on CDs and DVDs and you have also the possibility to copy the videos to another computer or upload them onto portable devices like iPod/iPhone, mobile phone, PocketPC, PDA and PSP.

After you become an advanced user of the program, you can use other features for your videos to be modified, like width, height, video size, bit rate, and frame rate.

The software costs 29.95$ but you can get the evaluation version for free to see if you like it.
I advise you to buy it instead, because the trial version can convert only 60% of your each video.

As I get to see more and more programs, work with them and acquire experience, I begin to consider even complex applications to be "easy to use", but no matter how experienced you are, some programs are trivial. Take Notepad and Paint as examples, but there are plenty of them around, and the one I got here today is a fresh banner creator, that has just seen the light of day. Its name is Easy Banner Creator, and I hope to be a pleasure using it. Now, let's see...

Setup

When talking about Easy Baner Creator, 1 seems to be a magical number. Since this seems to be the first public release, the version number is, obviously, 1.0. Even more, the archive containing the setup package has also exactly 1MB in size, and there is only one major task that can be accomplished using this program, but we'll talk about that later.












<-234x60 Half Banner - left->The trial version of the program can be used for as long as you like, but it doesn't allow you to save your work to a GIF file until you pay the 15$ registration fee. Installing the program is very easy - just download the archive containing the kit, unpack and run the file called "setup.exe", then follow the instructions. Nothing easier, as you can see in the shots above...

Interface

If I didn't pass through a time gate, we're in 2007. When I look at the screenshot to the left, I think that I may be missing something, so I check the date again. No change, it's the 12th of September, 2007. Well, it seems there's nothing wrong with me, but Easy Banner Creator looks like a software application from the past. We get a menu bar with only 2 items, and the main window looks like a desert - a lot of empty space, without any chance to see it used, in the current version. Anyway, the good part is that even my grandmother should be able to use this program in a snap, if the can read the small texts from its interface, of course...

Features

Now, let's create a banner, quickly! Once you have fired up the program, a new document is automatically created. There are 4 attributes you need to set so that you obtain a nice banner, or even an animated one.

First, you shuold enter the size of your banner. This can be done manually or by selecting one of the predefined banner sizes. Unfortunately, this program doesn't seem to have built in the sizes defined by IAB's standards, but I don't think that Easy Banner Creator's users are people that care about the Interactive Advertising Bureau's directives, either.

Next, you should pick the background color of the banner, but you can also use a gradient or a background picture. There are some background pictures included with the program, not many, nd most of them are really awful.

The third thing your should take care of is to add some text, choose its font, and set those basic shading options (shade color and depth).

At last, you can optionally enable the animation for your text, and choose one of the 8 animation directions available, from Right to Left Top. Usually, last step would be to export your work to a GIF file, but since this option is disabled in the trial version, you can save the project as a Banner project file (*.ebc) to use when you'll purchase the program... or simply forget about this program, as I will, for now.

The Good

Easy Banner Creator is extremely easy to use and worked without problems during the time I spent with it.

The Bad

The price of this program is incredible, considering what can be done with it, the built in graphics are really bad (I found that only one or two background images can be used in a banner without being ashamed of your work) and the features are very limited.

Conclusion

I know it's hard to develop a program on your own and to get profit out of it from the start, but setting a price higher than the rest of the market won't take you anywhere, especially when your features and interface are taken right out from average banner creators that were very popular more than a decade ago! I don't want to be rude, and I hope that Easy Banner Creator will get better in the future, but as it is now, I wouldn't pay a single dollar for it, and I wouldn't recommend it for anything else than a try. Of course, you can always buy the program and consider you made a donation to Image Tools Group, so they can improve their software, because I am sure they can do it.

Developer: Image Tools Group
Price: 15$
Trial Link: Download