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AVG 8.0

admin — Fri, 23 May 2008 16:52:51 +0000

I always know when AVG release a new version of their fantastic free anti-virus software as it usually results in a torrent of abuse being launched towards me by my readership – “you said this software was free and now it’s asking me for money or it’ll stop working.”

Now, I must admit that it is true that whenever a new version of AVG is released and an old version is discontinued, they do try and push users down the route of buying the more advanced package. I don’t blame them for this as everybody needs to make money, however those that actually bother reading the message will see that there is still a free option available. It is this version, AVG 8, which I will be reviewing today.

I have always pitched AVG as being the anti-virus checker that my readers should be using and amazingly the best thing about this application ISN’T the fact that it’s free – In actual fact there are plenty of reasons that you would want to use AVG even if you had to pay for it.

My favourite feature of the application is its non intrusive nature; it silently gets on with it – In my opinion there is nothing worse than a virus checker that gets you too involved and prevents you from getting along with the job in hand. Everything is done in the background so you want have to be involved if you rather understandably don’t want to be; it will update itself and even perform full system scans without you ever realising and then, if it finds a virus it will efficiently dispose of it.

Install and forget is a nice philosophy and beats gigantic boated pieces of software such as Norton Internet Security which prompt you every 15 seconds about problems that you wish it would just work out for itself; I’ve never understood a virus scanner which will actually ask me if I want to remove a virus it has found. In my eyes this is a stupid question – why would I voluntarily keep something that is liable to wipe my hard drive and provide me with months of extra unpaid work?

Version 8 improves on the background scanning of the previous AVG application and provides new and quite possibly overdue Spyware protection, along with a handy LinkScanner feature. The latter is a new component which provides you with a quick graphical evaluation of a sites perceived safety before you visit it whenever you do an Internet search in an engine such as Google. It works by taking the findings of those that use the AVG toolbar by warning you via a small graphical link if a site that appears in your search results is likely to be malicious.

Updates are provided free of charge for the life of the product and of course all the usual features such as e-mail scanning and resident shield are provided and turned on by default.

In terms of installation, the application is a 45.6mb download which can be obtained by visiting http://free.grisoft.com – It is worrying to see such the size has growth significantly from AVG 7.5’s 16mb footprint but this is still much smaller than many other virus checkers on the market. After advice given to me by our resident techie who resides upstairs from Refresh at Switch Computer Support, I would recommend removing AVG 7 before installing version 8 as by all accounts the installation program does sometimes simply ‘forget’ to remove the old version first which can cause problems.

New Years Resolutions

admin — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 16:38:05 +0000

It’s that time of year that we start making a list of resolutions for the coming year and as such I’d like to be bold enough to suggest a couple of things that you may like to adopt in to your computing lives of 2008. As these are mainly bullet points I’ve included links to previous articles that can be used to obtain further reading material.

To make things more interesting I have decided to separate my readership in to two extremes – one designed for regular computer users, and one for the hardcore. This may prove more beneficial than reading off ‘one size fits all’ list and we’ll start with the ‘regular’ users.

Backup your hard drive – Why not start with the most obvious point which is also the one that’s most likely to be ignored. We all know we should backup but yet none of us do, myself included. Head to http://www.computerarticles.co.uk/driveimage-xml/ for a review of some software to make the process less painful however don’t say I didn’t warn you if you choose to ignore this advice.

Keep your Windows installation clean – It’s amazing how much of a difference a trim and tidy version of Windows can make to the speed of your computer. In the past I’ve highlighted software that can assist you with this, and several reviews are archived at www.computerarticles.co.uk. Despite the range of software available, one of the most effective ways is simply going to Add/Remove programs and taking out any applications you don’t need. This point has been included as a gentle dig towards my girlfriends’ mother who had me cleaning up her bloated, slow Windows installation until ten o’clock this evening, when she knew I had an article to write!

Stay healthy while using your machine – Don’t underestimate the effects of RSI; it is a serious condition. Simple precautions can easily help you avoid any conditions or discomforts associated with using a computer. Check out http://www.computerarticles.co.uk/repetitive-strain-injury/ for further reading.

Keep up to date – Although this is a task that can easily be put off, it is worth making an effort to ensure that your Windows, anti-virus and any other important software is up to date. By doing so you’ll be minimising the chance of experiencing any security issues along with potentially increasing the speed and reliability of your machine.

The hardcore computer users (otherwise often known as ‘geeks’) will probably appreciate all of the above however there is an equally important set of skills involving moderation which may need to be learnt. This section is intended to be taken very tongue in cheek; we do however have some truly geeky friends in our friendship group so for the sake of sanity some of these points must be learnt.

Extend your conversational skills beyond computers and mobile communications – Whilst I do appreciate technology myself there is something unsettling a person whose range of conversation doesn’t extend past this one subject. Yes, I know that if you turn your mobile phone to 90 degrees that the screen automatically rotates itself, however this doesn’t necessary make for good conversation every time we’re in the pub.

Enjoy the outdoors – Some studies suggest that we only spend, on average, approximately three quarters of an hour every day (3%) outside. I would imagine that for some IT guys this figure is much lower so try to make an effort to experience the real world once in a while; in many ways it is superior to the virtual one.

Eat healthy and exercise – Hardcore computer users either tend to be very skinny, due to lack of exercise or very large, due to a poor diet. Sitting in front of a computer for five hours eating pizza and drinking Coke can’t possibly be good for you.

Turn it off every now and again – Force yourself to do other things; read, socialise, try to do some cooking. I can’t think of a better New Years resolution than to commit to rediscovering the real world. It is an old parody on the game Second Life I do know but www.getafirstlife.com is an extremely poignant site.

64 Bit Computing

admin — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 16:33:45 +0000

There is a lot being said about Windows Vista at the moment along with the normal paranoia keeping users away that usually occurs when Microsoft release a new Operating System. I’m surprised by the number of people I know who have bought a new computer in the last couple of months and paid more to have Windows XP installed on it because of the horror stories they have heard, usually through a chain of half a dozen people.

If I can just clarify to my readership that Windows Vista is a good Operating System and in terms of bugs and security vulnerabilities it’s light years ahead of how Windows XP was this far into its distribution cycle. I’m not saying that you should rush out and buy it tomorrow if you’re happy with XP, but all I am saying is that if buying a new machine and you’re given the choice then definitely go the Vista route.

Other than which edition you’re going to get (Home Basic, Home Premium, Business or Ultimate) there is an equally important consideration in whether you’re going to go for the 64 bit or 32 bit version of Windows and unfortunately this is a consideration that’s often overlooked.

Ultimately your choice may have already been made for you by the system manufacturer; if your system only has a 32-bit processor then you can only use the 32-bit version of Windows. Those lucky enough to be buying a 64-bit processor will have the choice of going for either the 64 or 32-bit version of Windows and as such this article will be focusing on these users. If you’re not sure what on earth I’m talking about here I should probably explain a little more about what a processor is and how it works.

The processor could be considered the most central part of your computer and is responsible for performing the billions of calculations that are performed every time you use your machine. There are a number of measures that can be applied to a processor to determine how powerful it is but one of the primary considerations is how many bits of information it can handle at any one time. My old Commodore 64 could handle 8 bits of data at once, most current PC processors can handle 32 bits and the newer, more powerful models can often handle 64 bits.

I feel that this oversimplification could be misleading as there are of course a million other factors that play a part in the performance of the processor; another important consideration for example is how many thousands of times a second the processor can move these bits of information around. Suffice to say, a 64 bit processor should perform better than a 32-bit processor of similar specification as long as it’s using software written to take advantage of the additional data handling capability.

As these processors are backwards compatible, you can install a 32-bit version of Windows on your 64-bit processor but as a result your machine will not be able to take advantage of this additional data bandwidth and you will be essentially handicapping your new processor; this is where the 64-bit version of Vista comes in to play. Whilst it is true that Microsoft did release a 64-bit version of Windows XP it unfortunately never gained any real support and as such was never developed in to a viable platform.

With 64-bit processors becoming commonplace and with a large wave of support for these new, more powerful versions of Vista it looks like 64-bit computing has finally arrived so now there are important decisions to be made. I think I have explained the primary speed advantage however there are also a number of other benefits from making the switch and rather predictably a large number of disadvantages. As this decision is an important one I plan next week to go over both sides of the argument so that you can decide which version is right for you.

Broadband Religion

admin — Sat, 06 Sep 2003 17:03:22 +0000

Okay, I’m not a particularly religious person but something on Sky News a couple of days ago caught my eye which I thought the religious readership I have would appreciate for it’s content and the agnostics amongst us would appreciate for a view on the ways the use of technology is becoming integrated into things that are quite traditional.

I am of course talking about the new website offered by St Philip and St James’ in Bath and sponsored by Telewest which allows people from all over the world to log on to the website http://www.broadbandreligion.co.uk and watch a sermon online. To be honest it seems a little bit much like a glorified commercial for the church and very little to do with actual worship but I suppose the same could be said about Songs of Praise and that doesn’t seem to bother anybody.

So how does it work? Quite simply the church installed a 2mg Broadband line to broadcast everything over the Internet and this was recorded and put on to the website for people to view in either Windows or Real Audio formats at a later date. Of course a million and one people have done something similar to this in the past but because a church does it then the worlds ears prick up and take note.

One assumes that the website will be updated and further sermons will be broadcast as and when they are created as the advantages for the elderly and infirm are clear to see. Personally I believe that the appeal for most fit people will be limited as those involved in the church won’t find their laptop a suitable alternative.

When heading to the site, it does look more like an advert for Telewest than a religious experience and one can’t get the feeling that it could have been done a lot better than it was. There should be a gallery, guestbook, hymns online and a daily sermon broadcast to the Internet community. Instead the site consists essentially of one video file which seems like a waste for a site that has had so much publicity in the media.

It is a first attempt however and so the site should improve in the future as well of the distinct possibility that local churches could start adopting the idea as the costs go down in order to increase their congregation both on and offline. This would work out remarkably well for those people who for whatever reasons are not able to make it to the church but that do have Internet access although I can’t imagine many older people having Internet access fast enough to get the full benefit from such a site.