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February 4, 2004 |
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MyDoom, the fastest-spreading virus ever, has our readers scurrying for antivirus tools to keep it and other evil worms away. We give you our top picks and a warning against freebie apps. Plus, we have the latest on Intel's Prescott. |
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Antivirus
Last week, most of us were just learning about the MyDoom virus. This week, we all appear to be fighting back. Our top search list was peppered with a wide selection of the top antivirus software makers, such as Norton and McAfee, as well as calls for free antivirus apps and virus scans. Our virus and security expert Robert Vamosi says the rule of thumb on antivirus protection is: you get what you pay for. In other words, he's no fan of those free antivirus programs. "Using Virus Bulletin's VB100% list, AVG, from Gist, has failed 20 times and passed only 3. Avast, from a Czech company named Alwil, fares a little better, failing only 19 times, but passing only 7," says Vamosi. "These are not great numbers. For example, Norton AntiVirus rarely misses." So, if you're still shopping for a package that will keep nasties such as MyDoom at bay, check out Rob's list of top security apps, which includes our antivirus picks: PC-cillin Internet Security 2004, which throws in a firewall and antispam tools, and Norton AntiVirus 2004 for a pure antivirus-only program. |
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Prescott
I'm really not sure what to make of Intel's chip names; with titles such as Springdale, Canterwood, and now Prescott, you'd think they were opening golf courses or country clubs, not making processors. But the chips with these hoity-toity names can bring faster speeds, cheaper prices, or both. In the case of the latest, Prescott, it's all about speed. Intel's four new Prescott chips run at speeds of 2.8GHz, 3GHz, 3.2GHz, and 3.4GHz and should eventually hit 4GHz by the end of this year, according to Intel. But for now, the desktops we had at our disposal were all 3.2GHz machines (or as Intel puts it, 3.2EGHz, to distinguish that speed from the existing P4 machines, now called Northwoods). The 3.4EGHz machines aren't out yet. Once the smoke cleared, our tests showed that none of them seriously outperformed Northwood. The only one that blew us away was Falcon Northwest's Mach V 3.4 Extreme Edition, which smoked every speedy PC we've ever tested in benchmarks, mainly thanks to Intel's Extreme chip that takes advantage of an L3 cache. So unless you're planning to drop $5,000 on a custom-assembled machine, you're better off waiting to see what future Prescotts will do. |
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Remote
Gadget hounds and home-theater buffs have long suffered from coffee-table congestion, a malady that stems from having too many remotes to control your home entertainment devices. That's why a universal remote is the couch potato's friend; lucky for you electronics junkies, our editors have recently reviewed a big crop of these handy all-in-one controllers. These aren't those simple, TV/VCR combo remotes you see at the drugstore; all of the remotes we reviewed are programmable and can control every device in your cabinet--some can handle as many as 10. Our top pick is the appropriately named Home Theater Master MX-500, loved mainly for its extensive feature set and ease of use. A close second is the Harmony SST-659, which sports a sleek design and fairly simple Web-based programming. Whichever you go with, you won't know how you survived without it once you configure it to your system. |
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MSN
The new MSN-AOL battle is for broadband users, as their numbers continue to grow. And judging from the interest in the latest from MSN, I'm guessing many of you readers are looking for ways to take better advantage of your high-speed access. Topping the list of MSN's offerings in this area is MSN Premium, a $10-a-month add-on that gives you 11 e-mail accounts; virus-scanning and firewall software; and online versions of Microsoft's Money, Encarta, and Picture It photo editor. After testing, we found it to be a great value for folks and families who don't already have that kind of PC protection or that handy software. And we preferred MSN's cleaner interface over AOL's. Just be warned that we did experience some problems getting MSN Premium to work on older PCs. |
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Bluetooth headset
You may have already seen some folks walking around with little wireless headsets strapped to their ears, making them look like a Borg from Star Trek, and wondered what the heck's up with that. It's Bluetooth at work; yes, that wireless technology that everyone thought would never take off. Bluetooth has found its calling in cell phones, and Bluetooth-enabled headsets are all the rage--even for those of us who don't have a Bluetooth phone. To see our latest headset reviews, check here. If none of these tickle your fancy, just wait; Cell Phone Diva Joni Blecher will be reviewing many more of these wire-free, hands-free devices in the coming year. Just look at all the cool mobile Bluetooth goodies she saw at this year's CES, which will be coming out over the next year. They're bound to keep her busy. |
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