PC Memoirs

Today, an effective anti-spyware program is just as important as an antivirus program. Sometimes both are packaged into one program that protects against all types of infections, but some users look for a separate anti-spyware solution.

If you already have an antivirus program but don’t have spyware protection, you should review my list of top 10 anti-spyware programs and perhaps try one of them.

I tried to find and list free programs only, but I couldn’t ignore the great reviews and effectiveness of the first two programs on the list. Maybe they are really worth the money?

My 10 choices are:

1. Spy Sweeper (buy or free trial)
2. CounterSpy (buy)
3. Spyware Terminator (free)
4. Spyware Doctor (free)
5. SpywareBlaster (free)
6. SUPERAntiSpyware (free edition or buy pro version for $30)
7. CA Antispyware (buy – around $40)
8. Spybot Search & Destroy (free)
9. Ad-Aware Personal Edition (free)
10. Spyware Detector (buy for $30)

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You have probably come across this problem while working with your files and folders: you try to open a file, but you get an ‘Access denied – File in use’ message. Similarly, you might try to delete a file, but you can’t do this as the file is locked by some other program and you see the familiar message: ‘File is in use or write-protected…‘

In this case, it helps if you have a program called File & Folder Unlocker. This freeware utility gives you complete control over locked files and folders. With this program, you can search files that are in use by other programs, list them and specific programs that hold them open, and easily unlock those files.

The main product Web site lists all features as follows:

Comprehensive:

• Searches all system and process handles
• Searches all loaded system drivers
• Searches all loaded processes and modules
• Searches all files opened remotely

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After you install Service Pack 3, sometimes Windows XP won’t load. All you can see is a blank screen.

Unfortunately, you have to uninstall SP3 to resolve this problem. To do this, you must restart the system and boot into Safe Mode (press and hold F8 after the restart until you see the new menu).

Once you are in Safe Mode, go into the Control Panel and click on Add/Remove Programs. Tick the Show updates option on top. Select Service Pack 3 from the list and click on Remove. That should take care of the problem. Next time you restart, Windows should load normally.

If the remove option doesn’t work, you’ll have to boot your PC with the Windows XP CD and go into the Recovery Console (press R at the Welcome screen). Select the required Windows Installation (usually just press 1) and type in the administrator password if there is one, otherwise press Enter. In the command prompt, type cd $ntservicepackuninstall$\spuninst and press Enter. Then, type in batch spuninst.txt and press Enter. A text file appears with a list of errors and files that are being copied. After the uninstall process, type Exit. Restart the computer and load Safe Mode again.

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Have you ever had this problem: you turn on your computer, but the monitor shows nothing – the screen is blank? I have encountered this problem many times and I found that the cause wasn’t always the same.

There are a few things you can do to find out what is causing this, but I would suspect a faulty power supply first. It helps if you have some spare parts for testing, such as second power supply, another video card and perhaps a spare memory module (RAM). That should help you find the cause fairly quickly.

First of all, make sure the monitor works. Simply connect it to another computer and test it. Also, check if the power cord is connected properly to the monitor and the monitor cable to the PC.

Before you start testing the parts mentioned above, unplug the power cord. When you open the case, touch any piece of metal to discharge static electricity. You have to do this before you start touching any components in the PC. Then check all connections and see if everything sits tight: video card, motherboard, RAM…

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I found an interesting article about free alternatives to Microsoft Office, written by a fellow blogger. The blog is called Windows Tips Tricks Tweaks and Hacks (not online any more) and the writer mentions 6 programs that can substitute MS Office.

They are:

• Google Docs
• Zoho
• OpenOffice
• ThinkFree
• StarOffice
• Ajax Write

I stumbled upon his blog when I was making my regular entrecard visits.