I did a lot of research on AVG vs. Avast recently in the course of working on a friend's PC that was infected to the gills. AVG, to its credit, caught a rootkit infection hidden in a .sys file that controls the PC's ability to use TCP/IP--and hence, to network. Several other highly recommended programs like Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and Super AntiSpyware missed it. But that being said, I went with Avast as well for a more robust and configurable system, and general acknowledgment by the experts that it's a better anti-malware program. AVG is more popular, but Avast is better, from what I've read. And AVG bogs the system done with updates, whereas AVG at least does updates on login/reboot that can be gotten out of the way quickly.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Martin Baxter" <martinbaxt...@gmail.com> To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 6:36:54 AM Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Free software can help with studies I'm tooting the horn for OpenOffice and avast! yet again, and advising one and all to run from GoogleDocs as though it were plague-soaked. I tried it once, and ended up with something so jumbled that it didn't resemble the English language. And duck and run from AVG as well, unless you want something that'll shred your computer. My mother had it on hers, and the thing's toast now. An AVG run on her system takes close to forty minutes, while avast! is less than five on mine, and my HD is twice hers. On Mon, Aug 16, 2010 at 6:55 PM, Mr. Worf < hellomahog...@gmail.com > wrote: This article should be called "Alternatives to Microsoft software." Back to school: Free software can help with studies By RENÉ GUZMAN STAFF WRITER Aug. 15, 2010, 5:30PM Share iconDel.icio.us iconDigg iconTwitter Yahoo! Buzz iconFacebook iconStumbleUpon Email Close [X] B ack to school means more than just hitting the books. It also means hitting the computer to bang out a term paper, create a PowerPoint-type presentation or simply go online to find out next week's assignments. Good thing the Web has plenty of free software to handle your course load. >From word processing to image editing, you'll find a wealth of aptly named >freeware that meets or even exceeds its commercial rivals when it comes to >features and operability. And whether you download these freebies or just play >with them online, they're sure to save you hundreds in software costs. (Trust >us, we have the prices for some of the more popular software to prove it.) Here are a few must-have free programs to tackle your class work, whether you use a Mac or a PC. Freely. Word processor office suite Instead of : Microsoft Office Home and Student 2010 ($149.99, Windows) and Office 2008 for Mac Home and Student Edition ($149.99) Use: AbiWord ( abiword.com ), OpenOffice.org ( openoffice.org ), Google Docs ( docs.google.com ), Zoho Writer ( writer.zoho.com ), Zoho Sheet ( sheet.zoho.com ), Zoho Show ( show.zoho.com ) "For a basic word processor — something you can write complex and multipage reports with - AbiWord is a fairly strong option," says Seth Rosenblatt, senior associate editor for the tech-resource site CNET. This downloadable program is super simple to use and saves documents in myriad formats, including Microsoft Word (.doc) and Office Open XML (.docx). If you'd rather keep your essays in the cloud, you can't beat the online word processors Google Docs and Zoho Writer . Both let you access documents anywhere you have a Web connection (computer or smartphone), import and export documents, and share documents online with real-time collaboration just like a study group within a screen. Need more than word processing? Rosenblatt recommends you download the productivity suite openoffice.org . "We're talking about something that is designed to completely replicate or replicate as closely as possible, the toolset that comes in Microsoft Office," he says, "but you don't have to pay for it." OpenOffice.org lets you write with Writer , design spreadsheets with Calc , craft presentations with Impress , play with graphics with Draw and make a database with Base . OpenOffice.org reads and writes most file formats, including those common to Microsoft Office. For similar office elements online, try Google Docs and Zoho productivity apps Zoho Sheet for spreadsheets and Zoho Show for presentations. Image editing Instead of: Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 ($99.99) or Adobe Photoshop CS5 12 ($699.99) Use: Photoscape ( photoscape.org ), Windows), Paint.NET ( getpaint.net ), Windows), Phoenix ( aviary.com , choose Image Editor), Picnik ( picnik.com ), GIMP ( gimp.org ) Whether you need to add visual aids to your book report or just zap the red eye from your study-buddy snapshots, you can't beat the image editor Paint.NET . The Web info blog MakeUsOf.com highlights this free Windows-only download, and it's easy to see why. Paint.NET sports a very intuitive user interface and strong features including layers, unlimited undo history and special effects such as blurring and color control. Rosenblatt also recommends the Windows-only Photoscape . Mac users can get in on the free image play, too. According to Rosenblatt, GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) may have the worst name, but it's the best free download for Mac, Windows and Linux users who need a complex program just as good as Photoshop. And don't forget Web-based photo editors such as Picnik and Aviary's Phoenix. Rosenblatt notes sites including Facebook and Flickr also offer basic image-editing options. Just upload your image and tweak away. Illustration & Web design Instead of: Adobe Illustrator CS5 15 ($599.99 for Windows/Mac) and Adobe Dreamweaver CS5 11 ($399.99 for Windows/Mac) Use: Inkscape ( inkscape.org ), Raven ( aviary.com , choose Vector Editor), KompoZer ( kompozer.net ) When you need to hit the digital drawing board, do it with Inkscape . Make UseOf.com notes this downloadable 2-D vector graphics editor supports all of the standard drawing features, including curves, lines and freehand drawing. For online illustration, Rosenblatt again points to Aviary, this time its Raven app. To create and edit Web pages, MakeUseOf.com likes KompoZer for its decidedly website 101 dynamic. The webpage program delivers WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editing mode and supports XML, CSS and JavaScript. Internet security Instead of : Norton AntiVirus 2010 ($39.99, Windows) Use: avast! Free Antivirus ( avast.com , Windows), Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware ( malwarebytes.org , Windows), AVG LinkScanner for Mac ( linkscanner.avg.com , Mac), Web of Trust ( mywot.com ) The best free defense against spyware and other online evils? Smarter Web surfing. "Surfing from site to site, blindly clicking on links without being cautious is really stupid," Rosenblatt says. "You might as well go out and play in traffic, Web-wise." That said, there are free security options to help you look both ways before clicking. Malwarebytes and avast! offer free trial versions of their respective antivirus software for Windows users, and AVG LinkScanner for Mac checks websites before they open. Rosenblatt also recommends you update your Web browser to its latest version and run it with WOT , or Web of Trust. This community-based add-on uses a stoplight color scale to rate sites for safety. (Green means trusted, yellow means caution, and red means steer clear.) WOT works with various browsers, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome and Safari. Here's your homework: Use this freeware to make your back-to-school experience an easier, cheaper one. rguz...@express-news.net -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ -- "If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik
