Software Review |
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Advanced Windows Care Version 2
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There are so many software packages out there that promise to repair your computer and put it back in pristine shape again, that you could get a stiff neck trying to read all their claims. You could spend anywhere from $19 for a virtually unknown piece of software to over $100 or more. Would these programs really make your operating system perform like new? It has been my experience that the answer is no. Wait, don't lose hope, there is actually a free program available that is terrific and does at least as much as the ones you have to pay for. I have used it for a couple of years now and I find that the best way to utilize it is by using it once a day to correct any errors. The program is called Advanced Windows Care and comes in two versions. One version is free for personal use and the other is the Pro version that is available for a nominal cost. I use the free version and always have and you can too as long as you are not violating the license by using it commercially. First let me tell you that the two versions are slightly different. With the free version you can not schedule events but have to perform them manually. It is not very much of a hardship to click the scan button once a day.
Main Screen The main screen is really all you would ever need to use, but there are some interesting options on other screens and menus. The program recommends that you take a snapshot of your system by using the Restore function in windows, which is available through the program, before doing a repair, but truthfully I have never had to restore anything after its use. You will notice that there are 7 check boxes, Spyware Removal, Security Defense, Registry Fix, System Optimization, Startup Manage, Privacy Sweep and Junk Files Clean. For now we will only talk about these options. I leave all seven checked before doing a scan. By the way a scan only takes a couple of minutes on my computer and is far quicker than those anti virus scans. Let's see what each of these things do: Spyware Removal - I think that the title says it all. My computer is very heavily protected from spyware. I use PC Tools Spyware Doctor with anti virus and Threatfire and yet, every once in a while, Advanced Windows Care catches and eliminates something. Security Defense - Supposedly this will prevent spyware from ever being installed on your computer. Remember this, no program can do this 100% efficiently, or all we would need would be this module and not the spyware removal module. Having said this, This module is pretty good. I can't give you a percentage of spyware it stops, but it is probably as good as any of the software that you would have to pay for. Registry Fix - There are always registry errors and they just keep building up until your machine is bogged down or you have to reinstall windows. Every day that I run this program it fixes between 50 and 100 registry errors. This part of windows is probably the worst and more error prone than anywhere else. It is important to keep on top of these errors to keep things running smoothly. System Optimization - An important feature. It examines your operating system and repairs any faults in your configuration, helping you to avoid problems. Again no program can catch everything, but this one does a pretty good job. Privacy Sweep - The author states that if you check this box, your activity history and surfing traces will be erased. Actually in the free edition I see none of this deleting the history is Firefox, but I have noticed that the history seems to have been erased in Internet Explorer. I wouldn't rely on this for privacy, but it is of little consequence since you can erase your trail right in your browser. Junk Files Clean - Empties the temporary folders and gives you some more disk space. This used to be important, but with larger and larger hard drives coming out, it doesn't have the importance that it used to. Still it is good to get unused stuff off of your drive. On The Bottom Of The Main Screen Are Three Buttons: Status - This tell you different things about the program such as the date of the last scan and license information and also gives you a link to your computer type and network connection. Neither of these work in the personal edition. Scan - This is the main button. First make your selections by checking the boxes above and then press it. Close - Exits the program. On The Top Of The Main Screen: There are three menus on the top of the main screen: Restore Center - You can create a restore point here or load one to bring your computer back to a selected point in time, repairing any problems that you might have gotten. This only works if you are able to load Windows. This software is not intended to be a backup program. Tools - This contains the following items: Startup Manager - This brings you to a screen that allows you to stop applications. You can even eliminate certain programs from being scanned in the future, but I wouldn't do this in case they become infected. This list contains all the programs that will be run when your computer starts up. Add Ons - Again another screen appears that has the option of allowing you to do many different things to different processes, services and internet connections. There is also a software uninstaller and a cookie manager. Cookies are little programs left on your computer when you travel the internet. They are not necessarily bad and some contain information that allows you to get onto certain sites. For example they could contain the connection information that allows you to get onto your banking site. If you click on the Process Manager you have the option of killing a process or refreshing the screen. To do this you have to click on the individual item with your mouse. Selecting System services and clicking on an item gives you the choice of Hide Windows Service, Start Service, Stop Service, Remove Service, Windows Service. An example of a windows service is your wireless connection if you have one. Hey almost everything your computer does is a service. TCP/UDP is an informational module that lets you see what is happening with your internet connection. Selecting the Cookie Manager will allow you to delete or refresh your cookies.
Memory Cleaner Memory Cleaner - this is pretty straight forward and shows you your memory information. There are four buttons: Update Now - Updates program The Settings button gives you several options which are: Run at Windows Startup - Run the memory program at startup. Automatically free ram while system is idle - self explanatory. Don't auto freeing during high CPU and disk usage - you should really keep this checked so that you don't screw up a program or a disk load. Use smart RAM compression technology - I don't use this, but if you have a small amount of ram and don't mind slowing things down slightly, you can gain memory by compressing what is in memory. Minimize - send the Smart Ram module to the tray. Disk Manager - This shows the free space on your hard drives and allows you to Analyze each disk. Analyzing produces a breakdown of the different types of files on the disk and also produces a tabbed view for each type. In the tabbed views you can manage files by clicking on them with the left mouse button and selecting either open, jump to folder, move to recycle bin or Properties There is a File and Help menu at the top of the page. Under the file menu is an exit link and under the help menu is a home page option. There is also a back button. Get More - This brings up an internet site with other programs that are available.
Program Settings
The Options Menu has 8 items in it: Settings - There are 4 different settings screens. General, Auto-Care, Interface Config and Ignore List. General - some setting not available for personal edition. There are three check boxes available, Minimize to system tray when program is closed, Load Automatically on Windows Startup and Show balloon tips in system tray. No automatic update is available in the personal free edition. Auto-Care - No settings available for the free edition. Interface Config - This is where you can set the language and theme for the program interface. Ignore List - This shows the list of your Ignore Items, the ones that you selected to ignore on scan. News Center - List of new products available along with new versions. Update - Updates you program Help - Brings up the usual help screen with search capabilities. Technical Support - The company states that there is no technical support for users of the free version, but that they will read all emails. Tell A Friend - Self explanatory. About - Gives you a link to the website, the version number of the software, copyright info and thanks contributors. Exit - Self explanatory. Near the top of the main screen is some info on your operating system, cpu, video card and memory with a button marked Details. Pressing it takes you to another screen that gives you the option to get a comprehensive view of information pertaining to the Operating System, Processor and Motherboard, Memory Device, Drives, Display, Network and Other Devices. Advanced Windows Care Version 2 is one of those great programs that could be sold and considered one of the best in its field and indeed it is sold in the Pro Version. Keep your computer running in top form, get a copy of this free program at http://www.iobit.com/advancedwindowscareper.html. See the movie on YouTube. |
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