Internet Security Suite

An internet security suite is a bundle of security software that keep your computer protected from all possible security vulnerabilities. Such a suite contains at least an antivirus, an antispyware and a firewall. Additional tools like parental control software, safe web surfing tool, antispam, phishing filter, system optimisation tool etc. are also available.






Advantages
1.There are no compatibility issues, as all the included tools are from the same company.
2.A security suite is a "Set it, forget it" software. After you install the suite, it takes over the entire responsibility of protecting your computer. You are notified only in serious cases.
3.Most of the security suites come with 24X7 tech support.
4.A lot of functions are available in a single program. Imagine using a separate antivirus, antispyware, firewall, parental control software, safe web surfing tool, antispam, phishing filter and a system optimisation tool!


Disadvantages
1.Almost all security suites cost money.
[At present, only one security suite is available for free - McAfee VirusScan Plus. It actually costs $30 a year, but AOL is offering this McAfee product for free to everyone who has a free AOL account. McAfee VirusScan Plus has antivirus, antispyware and firewall only. Read more HERE.]
2.All security suites are invariably resource hogs. It is not advisable to use one if you have low RAM on your computer. "Low RAM" means anything less than 512MB for Windows XP users, and anything less than 1GB for Windows Vista users.
[Anyway, using a bunch of separate security tools would probably eat as much or even more RAM.]
3.Security suites may not necessarily provide all-round good protection. For example, a suite may have strong virus protection but poor spyware protection.


The Toppers
BitDefender Total Security - 9/10
Norton 360 - 8/10
Kaspersky Internet Security - 8.5/10
Avira Premium Security Suite - 9/10
McAfee Total Protection - 7.5/10
ESET Smart Security - 9/10
AVG Internet Security - 8/10
TrendMicro Internet Security - 8.5/10


:)

The Toned Ton!c

I decided for a template upgrade of PC Ton!c, to put forth a simpler and more techie interface (hurrah to Sven and Atin for goading me on!). There are few more things to be sorted out, so you will probably be seeing minor changes over the next 2-3 days. Feel free to leave a comment on what you think.

Coming to posting, I am really sorry I didn't post anything last week. Actually my pre board is starting from 16th and I don't have much time to write stuff. I also used up the spare time in searching for templates and then modifying this one. Again, I can't post frequently over the next fortnight due to the exams. Please bear with me.

:)

P.S. PC Ton!c has got it's first ever Google PageRank of 1; it's not much but definitely better than nothing! Thank you all for making it possible!

Gabbly-ing Around

The internet has numerous cool stuff to surf around, and one such "stuff" is Gabbly.
Gabbly allows you to chat in ANY website, with ANYONE, without downloading ANYTHING. Didn't get it? OK, let me explain!

1.If you visit a website through Gabbly, it will automatically create a temporary chat room for that website and assign you a random user name. To visit a website through Gabbly, you have to type this in your browser's address bar: www.gabbly.com/website_URL. For example, if want to gabble in PC Ton!c, type www.gabbly.com/pctonic.blogspot.com in your browser's address bar. The page that will open will look like this:

Note that it opens PC Ton!c along with an additional Gabbly Chat window.











Similarly, you can gabble in
Yahoo!
www.gabbly.com/www.yahoo.com
Google
www.gabbly.com/www.google.com
XYZ (XYZ is any website)
www.gabbly.com/www.abc.com
(www.abc.com is the website address of XYZ)

To gabble in Gabbly itself, just visit www.gabbly.com

2.Now suppose a second person, from anywhere in the world, also visits PC Ton!c via Gabbly. He will be assigned a second random user name and both of you can chat in the PC Ton!c chat room!

3.You can create your free Gabbly account to have your own user name, and not just any random user name assigned to you. Go HERE for registration.

4.Gabbly has introduced a new feature to make money by simply gabbling with others and displaying your own ads. You have to register for free to access this feature.

5.If you want to get out of Gabbly, just click the close button on the Gabbly Chat window. If you are www.gabbly.com/www.xyz.com , Gabbly will automatically redirect you to www.xyz.com . For example, if you are gabbling in PC Ton!c ( www.gabbly.com/pctonic.blogspot.com ), simply close the Gabbly Chat window and you will be redirected to pctonic.blogspot.com .


Visit Gabbly at www.gabbly.com !


:)

Disk Defragmentation Tools

A hard disk consists of small storage units called tracks. These tracks join to form a sector. When you save a file on your computer, it is first fragmented into smaller bits and every portion is stored in some random track. The next time you open that file, your operating system will collect all the fragments, join them and then open the file for you. By computer means, this takes a lot of time.
Disk defragmentation tools reduce the time to retrieve data by defragmenting it. Defragmenting the hard drives brings all the related data together and pushes the free space to one corner. So, all the file fragments are now closer to one another and can be retrieved faster. Even though the increase in speed is not noticeable, it is recommended to defragment your hard disk or drives (especially C:) periodically.
Windows has an inbuilt defragmenting tool, which can be accessed from Start > All Programs / Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Defragment. However, it's unpopular due to it's incredibly low speed. So I have mentioned some free third party defragmenting tools - you can download and use any one of these.

Recommended: AusLogics Disk Defrag

AusLogics Disk Defrag ~ AusLogics Software
*****
Available for: Windows Vista/XP/2003 Server/2000
Home | Download.com


IOBit SmartDefrag* ~ IOBit.com
*****
Available for: Windows Vista/XP/2000
Home | Download.com


Defraggler* ~ Piriform
*****
Available for: Windows Vista/2003 Server/XP/2000
Home | FileHippo


JkDefrag ~ JC Kessels
*****
Available for: Windows Vista/2003 Server/XP/2000
Home | FileHippo


:)

Eager For A Microsoft ZunePhone?

Source: i messed with it™ beta | YouTube

Well, spare some time to see this video then:


Isn't this really funny? :D
My close e-friend Atin has posted it in his blog, and I just couldn't stop myself from stealing it (Sorry Atin!). Don't forget to check out his techno cool blog - i messed with it™ beta - for more fun and for many Windows Vista tips and tricks! And think twice before grabbing a ZunePhone! ;)



:)

Adieu Netscape

It's official - Netscape Navigator will no longer be supported from 1st February, 2008. I had dismissed the talks about this as rumours, but I saw the inevitable myself in the Netscape blog. This marks the end of an era, which started gloriously and ended disastrously.
The first version of Netscape Navigator was released towards the end of 1994, after some beta and pre-version releases in the same year. The browser was an instant hit and had already captured over 70% market share within an year. Netscape was known for it's intuitive features and robustness. However, Netscape's rising popularity rang warning bells in the Microsoft camp. Microsoft launched a huge advertising campaign to promote it's own browser - Internet Explorer - which paid off. Even with far inferior features and more bugs, Internet Explorer had eroded Netscape from the market within 2-3 years. Slowly, Internet Explorer also moved ahead of Netscape in features and stability. The advent of more browsers like Opera resulted in a complete collapse in the market share of Netscape. By 2003, Netscape's market share had almost reduced to zero.
The Netscape team tried a rescue operation by releasing Netscape Browser 8.0 with an amazingly large number of features. I remember using it on my desktop. Netscape 8.0 was quite cool, but the features also slowed down it's speed. It failed to divert the attention of Internet Explorer, Firefox and Opera users.
AOL acquired Netscape about a year ago, resulting in the start of un-Netscape-tization of the browser. Netscape further lost it's originality when AOL traded it's default engine for Mozilla's Gecko engine. As a result, Netscape Navigator 9, the latest and the last version of Netscape, turned out to be almost a copy of Firefox, but sleeker and faster. This didn't work either, and AOL has finally stopped the further development of Netscape.
There is some consolation for the few Netscape maniacs, though. AOL will continue to keep www.netscape.com as an internet portal. All versions of Netscape will be available for download from the portal, though they will not be supported any more (Navigator 9 will be supported till 01.02.2008). The Netscape team has advised Netscape lovers to switch over to Mozilla Firefox browser and use the Netscape add-on theme to give Firefox a Netscape-ish look. You can find the add-on theme HERE.
Well, this is the end of the magnificent Netscape. May it's soul rest in peace in the software graveyard...


:(