Short List of Utilities for Vista

[.Joe]

Can't really see the point of what I consider to be extraneous programs, after all one good security suite plus Vista's enhanced security should be more than enough to protect your PC.

The only one I would consider is the Data recovery one, naturally you have to have graphics programs but that personal choice, mine are PaintShop Pro, and PhotoShop.

I've found that freeware while good for the simple things, don't have the full scope for much more intensive work.

Thanks for your feedback silver.

Some of the utilities are not free, for example, Windows Live OneCare. It does what Vista can't do from its native environment, such as virus scanning. In fact many of the short list programs do things Vista can't do, or do them better. One example would be the registry cleaners another would be the defrag tools (both registry and disk). Vista has many built in features, that's why so many of us like the OS. But there are many of us who want our systems fine tuned and running their best. Many of these utilities give us the tools to make Vista even better.

Best of luck to you in the future.

 

[silver]

Can't really see the point of what I consider to be extraneous programs, after all one good security suite plus Vista's enhanced security should be more than enough to protect your PC.

The only one I would consider is the Data recovery one, naturally you have to have graphics programs but that personal choice, mine are PaintShop Pro, and PhotoShop.

I've found that freeware while good for the simple things, don't have the full scope for much more intensive work.

Thanks for your feedback silver.

Some of the utilities are not free, for example, Windows Live OneCare. It does what Vista can't do from its native environment, such as virus scanning. In fact many of the short list programs do things Vista can't do, or do them better. One example would be the registry cleaners another would be the defrag tools (both registry and disk). Vista has many built in features, that's why so many of us like the OS. But there are many of us who want our systems fine tuned and running their best. Many of these utilities give us the tools to make Vista even better.

Best of luck to you in the future.

after all one good security suite plus Vista's enhanced security should be more than enough to protect your PC.

Can do all thats required will fine tune your system, Live one Care isn't bad but lacks flexibility, Thats why I say one good Security Suite can take care of all your Spyware, Adware, Virus scans, backups, defragging, clearing all your surplus files.

My system is well tuned and doesn't need lots of extra programs cluttering up the system.

Whatever floats your boat anyway, I just like a clean slim system. HAND.

 

[.Joe]

Thanks for your feedback silver.

Some of the utilities are not free, for example, Windows Live OneCare. It does what Vista can't do from its native environment, such as virus scanning. In fact many of the short list programs do things Vista can't do, or do them better. One example would be the registry cleaners another would be the defrag tools (both registry and disk). Vista has many built in features, that's why so many of us like the OS. But there are many of us who want our systems fine tuned and running their best. Many of these utilities give us the tools to make Vista even better.

Best of luck to you in the future.

after all one good security suite plus Vista's enhanced security should be more than enough to protect your PC.

Can do all thats required will fine tune your system, Live one Care isn't bad but lacks flexibility, Thats why I say one good Security Suite can take care of all your Spyware, Adware, Virus scans, backups, defragging, clearing all your surplus files.

My system is well tuned and doesn't need lots of extra programs cluttering up the system.

Whatever floats your boat anyway, I just like a clean slim system. HAND.

Silver,

It sounds like you've found an all in one program. Please share with the membership, what single program does "Spyware, Adware, Virus scans, backups, defragging, clearing all your surplus files.", besides Windows Live OneCare? And even Microsoft's security suite doesn't clean up or defrag the registry. So knowing what program you're using that does all these things would be good information.

If it's a good enough program, I'll be happy to add it to the short list.

 

[silver]

Its not free, I swear by Norton 360, I've found very few come close to it for efficiency and lack of interference, a very light footprint I think says it all.

 

[.Joe]

Its not free, I swear by Norton 360, I've found very few come close to it for efficiency and lack of interference, a very light footprint I think says it all.

Thanks for the recommendation Silver. If you'd like I can add this program to the short list, with a recommended by Silver tag. I've also heard other good things about 360 as well. Just let me know if you'd like me to add it.

Best wishes,

 

[silver]

Why not, if it helps.

 

[.Joe]

Its not free, I swear by Norton 360, I've found very few come close to it for efficiency and lack of interference, a very light footprint I think says it all.

Thanks to Silver for the recommendation. Norton 360 has been added to the short list. Which is becoming not so short

 

[roy69]

Spybot search and destroy works on both 32 and 64 bit vista. I only run it once a week but it does its job well.

 

[dmex]

Heres another very useful utility for Vista...

GRC|SecurAble: Determine Processor Security Features|

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

Heres another very useful utility for Vista...

GRC|SecurAble: Determine Processor Security Features|

Cool little utility!


Thanks Ted

 

[peterpy]

Tried a trial of advanced windows care pro...and ran it...created a bunch of problems cleaning up things it should not have touched...like toolbar icons became inactive....uninstalled and ran a system restore to get rid of it...fortunately all back to normal.

 

[chessian]

I'm using CCleaner for my registry errors; Are there any good free Registry cleaners?

 

[oldsalt]

I just purchased the latest version of Casper.

Version 5.0 has a complete 64 bit application

Casper hard disk copying software provides complete PC backup protection | Future Systems Solutions

I have never used it, however, by all reports nothing much goes wrong with it

 

[Skulltrail]

Anything like Crucial Memory Mechanic that is x64 compatible?

 

[MilesAhead]

I'm using CCleaner for my registry errors; Are there any good free Registry cleaners?

I noticed Wise Registry Cleaner recommended on this board so I'm trying it out on my old XP machine first. Also ran the Wise Disk Cleaner from the same people. So far my XP machine still boots and seems normal. After a couple of days if nothing blows up I'll try it on my 32 bit Vista machine. Just for grins I ran CCleaner registry issues thing after rebooting and it only found a few items. Wise Registry Cleaner had some marked as not safe to fix, but I guess CCleaner just went ahead and fixed 'em!! It claims to have an Undo for the Registry cleaner so as long as you can boot then you should be able to reverse it. My impression is that it didn't do any damage. I'm just waiting as a precaution.

Edit: Just as a follow-up, after installing Wyzo browser, then removing it with ZSoft uninstaller(via analysis/removal) I was unable to complete system restores using restore points I made before Wyzo install. I'm not sure if it's Wyzo or Wise Registry Cleaner, but I notice another bad comment about it here:

http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-registry-cleaner.htm

Fortunately I had a system snapshot only one day old to put back on my XP machine. Guess I'll get wise and stay away from stuff with wize, or wise, or wyze in the name for awhile!!

I did notice that when I analyzed the install with Zsoft it showed a lot of registry changes so it may have been the Wyzo browser download. But I'm goin' back to stuff I've used for awhile, like CCleaner.

 

[johnwillyums]

Hi Folks. I'm running Vista 64 bit Sp1 and I think it is absolutely superb. I'm using Kaspersky Security Suite 7 which costs about 30 GBP. As I still have a few months to run on my licence I've been able to upgrade to verion 8 for nothing.
I think that Vista 64 is naturally more secure then XP but I can't fault Kaspersky. I still have Spybot S&D and Adaware and I run them every couple of weeks. They rarely find anything and when they do it is something that is not much of a threat.
I also use CCleaner, Auslogics defrag and Ashampoo Winoptmimizer and am pleased with the result.
Maybe this is overkill but my system runs like a rocket and I've not had any problems that weren't my own fault for almost a year now so I would definitely recommend Kaspersky. I know it's not free but it's cheaper than some competitors and works great.

Cheers to you all, John

 

[pweegar]

I'd like to add Glary Utilities. Does System Registry cleanup, fixes shortcuts, cleans temp folders out, etc. Seems to work well. I use it on both XP and Vista.

Also, I'd add Avast anti-virus software. I like it better than AVG (Have used both). With AVG , I have had problems getting it to install on my Vista Utimate pc, while Avast just loaded and works.

 

[roy69]

Hi Folks. I'm running Vista 64 bit Sp1 and I think it is absolutely superb. I'm using Kaspersky Security Suite 7 which costs about 30 GBP. As I still have a few months to run on my licence I've been able to upgrade to verion 8 for nothing.
I think that Vista 64 is naturally more secure then XP but I can't fault Kaspersky. I still have Spybot S&D and Adaware and I run them every couple of weeks. They rarely find anything and when they do it is something that is not much of a threat.
I also use CCleaner, Auslogics defrag and Ashampoo Winoptmimizer and am pleased with the result.
Maybe this is overkill but my system runs like a rocket and I've not had any problems that weren't my own fault for almost a year now so I would definitely recommend Kaspersky. I know it's not free but it's cheaper than some competitors and works great.

Cheers to you all, John

Avast do a 64bit virus checker and it is free. I use this and it is not a resource hog like some others (not kasperkey).

 

[Day24]

Hey Joe,

you mention you've removed spyware doctor because it now only removes spyware if you purchase it? Well....that's only sort of true. If you go to pack.google.com and download spyware doctor through them, you get the fully functioning version, but for free.

Only downside? It does not work with the 64bit version of vista yet.

 

[johngalt]

Actually, that is mentioned on the Spyware Doctor's web page:

Spyware Doctor Full Version Information

Current Version:6.0.0.362 File Size:13,244 KB Operating System:Designed for Windows® Vista™ 32-bit, XP and 2000. Windows® 98 users click here. Release Date:July 21, 2008 Protection Against:Spyware, Adware, Spyware Trojans, Keyloggers, Identity Theft, Hijackers, Tracking Threats, Rogue Anti-Spyware, Unwanted Software, Phishing, Popups and Bad Websites. Trial Limitations:The trial offers time unlimited real-time protection (free spyware blocking), but does not remove threats detected during on-demand scans, updates may also differ to those supplied to registered users. Starter Edition:The Starter Edition offers full scan and removal of threats, and basic real-time protection, is available for free as part of the Google Pack.

And you can also download *just* the starter edition from C|Net: Spyware Doctor Starter Edition - Free software downloads and reviews - CNET Download.com

The starter edition is NOT the full edition.