optimize

AnVir Task Manager Free offers users a one-stop shop for managing your system's running processes and applications. Though it more than delivers the information it promises, it could really benefit from a more streamlined interface.

Users will need to spend some time taking in AnVir's user interface, because at first glance it's overwhelming. It uses tabs to distinguish system categories, such as start-up, applications, processes, and services. Command buttons at the top of the window give you the ability to kill processes, block processes, free memory, and select a parent process. The bottom of the window details … Read more

You can't predict every hard-drive failure. But when a drive goes down because certain hardware components are slowly degrading, then S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) can help warn you of an impending crash, so you have time to run a last-minute backup. Mac OS X already uses S.M.A.R.T. to track the health of drives, but it only runs a check whenever you use Disk Utility to verify a disk. SMARTReporter is a free, open-source tool that checks the S.M.A.R.T. status of drives hourly (by default, or … Read more

The beauty of Diskeeper is its simplicity. It runs in the background when your machine is idle, automatically defragging your files making manual defragmentation mostly unnecessary. But new in version 2010, Diskeeper offers what they call IntelliWrite technology to prevent fragmentation even before it begins.

You can schedule your defragmentation for times when your away from the computer or you can use the manual defragger when your system feels sluggish. But beyond basic defragmetation functions there are a number of advanced options to increase system efficiency. Use Boot Time Defragging to defrag your hard drive at start up. While it … Read more

Some of us here at the lab think there needs to be a "Netologism," a new Internet word, for registry cleaners, something that encapsulates their controversial, let-the-user-beware nature. You may know the species: They generally offer a free download and/or system scan, which identifies "problems" in the Windows Registry that they will fix, if you buy the full version, which is usually around $30. If you pay up and just let it do its thing on your registry, there's a darn good chance you'll boot back up to a sick machine, or your … Read more

Ashampoo Photo Optimizer Free is the perfect tool for fixing underexposed photos quickly and easily. Open one picture or a whole folder full of images, and it will lighten all of the files with a single click.

Ashampoo Photo Optimizer Free is a one-trick pony, but it does its one trick well. The program lightens photos that are too dark. You can also rotate your images left or right. When we tested this utility, we found it did a good job with underexposed files, but it doesn't improve overexposed files, reduce digital noise, or make any other adjustments. Clicking … Read more

Compuware announced Monday that it has completed the buyout of Web optimization company Gomez, bringing aboard the acquired firm's 272 employees into a new Web Performance division.

As an application and testing firm, Compuware provides enterprise customers with tools to optimize the performance of their server-based applications. Gomez helps its customers monitor and manage the performance of their Web sites and Web-based applications.

Compuware believes that the addition of Gomez, first announced in October, will allow it to provide a wider range of services to help customers test and optimize both in-house and Internet-based applications.

The deal has also … Read more

A clean, tabbed layout makes Registry Booster easy to use, and its Registry-centric features keep it focused and in fighting trim. The trial version comes burdened by some tight restrictions that will make it hard for average users to evaluate, but the program does a surprisingly good job of showing you precisely what would be fixed.

Annoyingly, after the program installs, if you choose to launch it immediately it will go directly into a scan without asking for user approval. Depending on your system resources and what other programs you have open, this could lead to a temporary but dramatic … Read more

The key to attracting traffic to your Web site is a high ranking by the major search engines, which deliver more hits than any other means. Attracting the attention of search sites usually means paying a consultant or other outside expert for the service. Fortunately, there's a less expensive option: SEO Administrator by FlamingoSoft. It can help get your Web site noticed. It's a search engine optimization (SEO) package that provides all the tools you need to optimize your Web site for maximum visibility and traffic. Its ranking monitoring tool checks major search engines and displays the most … Read more

You get a new computer and it runs great. However, after a while, things start to get more and more sluggish. This is true for all operating systems, including those running the all new and shiny Windows 7.

That is because, other than user errors (such as misuse, viruses, spyware, accidental file deletion, harmful changes to the Registry and system settings, and so on), the OS doesn't take good care of itself. It collects and store junks from the Internet. It doesn't completely remove remnants of unwanted applications. Its Registry keeps getting more and more bloated with residual settings, and so on and so forth. All of these result in system clutter that over time slows down the machine.

This is when a cleanup software, like System Mechanic from Iolo, comes in handy.

I tried version 9.0.3 of the software recently, as it's the first I found that works with Windows 7 64-bit (the software itself is 32-bit, however) and it seemed to work well, though not perfectly.… Read more