Many data security packages focus on breadth, but Dekart’s Private Disk focuses on depth. Its combination of top-of-the-line encryption, virtual-disk protection, and unusual features is striking and effective. Security packages from Steganos and ZoneLabs offer excellent features in other areas, but if you simply want security for computerized data, Private Disk is a better bet.

With its simple dialog box containing tabbed folders (disk, options, recovery, customize) that list selections in standard fonts, Private Disk is one of the plainest-looking utilities in years. But that’s not a reflection on the program’s abilities. The app’s main job is to make password-encrypted (256-bit AES encryption, to be exact) virtual disks of your files. (Virtual disks behave like physical hard drives that can be easily mounted and unmounted.) You can create virtual disks on hard drives, as well as removable media (flash drives, for example), and launch them directly, without the initial program installation. The program even rates how secure your password choices are.

Disk Firewall, a new feature of 2.07, is a protective layer at the application level. It stops intrusive behavior cold, whether from viruses and worms, or Web-based requests for user information. You can also select which applications are allowed to access files behind Disk Firewall.

In short, the program offers lots of options with top performance. Many are time-consuming to set up, but the built-in help files are well-organized, and the company’s Web site does a decent job of walking you through creating virtual disks, including a step-by-step Flash demo.Tech support is available by email form or phone.

URL : www.dekart.com

Tags: data security

Even if you’ve never heard of Kaspersky Lab, chances are you’ve used its security technology before: The Russian vendor’s antivirus engine is used to power dozens of better-known viral crusaders. By adding firewall and antispyware protection to its antivirus product, the powerful and well-designed Internet Security 6.0 should bring Kaspersky out from behind the curtain and onto center stage. The suite has strong virus, spyware, spam, and firewall tools to compete against kingpins McAfee, Norton, and ZoneAlarm.

The suite takes just minutes, and a few mouse clicks, to install, and it will run a post-setup system scan if you want to start with a clean machine. The redesigned interface is well organized, with important settings for antivirus, spyware, spam, and other security tools just one click from the main screen. And the various components are good team players: The Kaspersky Anti Hacker personal firewall works with the Anti-Spy feature, blocking sites with potentially dangerous content.

The Kaspersky suite deserves praise for its aggressive security. Out of the box, the suite protected us from online viruses and worms, remote attacks, and malware such as spyware. Like most security suites, Kaspersky also fights spam. In the tests with Outlook, it was reasonably accurate, and errors were easily corrected. Still, the Kaspersky suite could do a better job of reporting its actions.

Live tech support from Kaspersky is a toll phone call, 24/7 support is coming in 2007. The company does, however, provide free technical support via email.

Tags: Anti Spyware

Hard drives and CD-ROMs are cheap, so why bother simulating them in software?

Extra Drive Creator 6.6 Professional’s powerful utility suite provides five good answers.

The suite’s Crypted Drive component supplies a handy 256-bit encrypted data vault, while Virtual CD-ROM creates ISO disk images and mounts them as drives, great for working with multiple programs that require an inserted CD. RAM Drive turns excess memory into an ultrafast storage unit. The other two utilities transform files or folders into drives so they’re easily accessible through Windows Explorer or any file dialog. No matter which options you choose,Windows and your applications see virtual drives the same way they do real ones.

The robust feature set is easy to configure, and we didn’t notice any slowdowns or stability problems.The only flaw: You need to reboot after mounting a RAM drive.

URL : WinTools Software Engineering

Tags: Extra Drive Creator

When Beta 2 of Vista was released in May 2006, many blog listed these favorite Vista features:
Windows Flip, Meeting Space, SideShow, and performance enhancers SuperFetch, ReadyBoost, and ReadyDrive. After a few months of reviewing with Beta 2, though, here the list of Tops 5 compiled by Computer Shopper.

1. EXPLORER BREADCRUMBS
Vista offers lots of features with a high geewhiz factor that catch your eye at first, such as the live file previews in the new Explorer or if you can run Aero, the live thumbnails of currently running apps on the Taskbar. But we have found Vista’s breadcrumb navigation to be much more useful, it lets me click quickly through subdirectory hierarchies to find what I need.

2. SEARCH ON THE START MENU
In retrospect, this should have been on my original list. I love being able to click on the Start menu and easily find files and launch applications. I can go to the search field and type something like C:/Users/Janice/Pictures or www.application-install-guide.com and go right there without launching Explorer or Internet Explorer. The feature works wonders for finding functions that otherwise take lots of clicking to uncover. Typing in Device Manager drops you right where you want to be rather than having to navigate to the Control Panel and look for the Device Manager icon.

3. SLEEP MODE
While SuperFetch and ReadyBoost are still pretty cool, my favorite performance improvement is much less glamorous. I’ve long envied Macs and their time-saving instant on/off ability, and with Vista, Windows has finally caught up. By combining XP’s Standby and Hibernate modes into a single, instant-off state, you can power up or down in just seconds.

4. MEETING SPACE
It was on my original list, and I still love this collaboration tool, which lets you create an ad hoc wireless connection with nearby Vista users even without a Wi-Fi network. You can share programs and jointly edit documents with up to 10 other users although Vista Home Basic users only get to view documents. In Beta 2, it is still called Windows Collaboration, but Microsoft plans to rename the tool Meeting Space for launch.

5. GUIDED HELP
Call me lazy, but I love Vista interactive Guided Help tool. Just over 30 help topics in Vista include the tool, which provides a step-by-step description of how to accomplish a task or lets you opt to have the task completed for you automatically. Click Show me step-by-step or Do it automatically, with the latter letting you observe all the steps by following a green arrow that floats across the screen, pointing and clicking the appropriate options. Each topic even recommends whether to use the automated process, or the step-by-step option.

Microsoft will have six versions of Vista available at launch and two categories of hardware requirements (Windows Vista Capable and Vista Premium Ready) for running different levels of the OS. All versions of Vista will operate and provide basic functionality on a Windows Vista Capable machine, but for all versions except Vista Home Basic and Vista Starter, you’ll want to go with a Vista Premium Ready configuration, at a minimum, to get access to all features. For the best experience, though, standard recommend doubling the minimum requirements listed.

Windows Vista Ultimate
For advanced consumers or business users; the highest-end edition, combining the best features of all editions.

Minimum Requirements:
Windows Vista Premium Ready Logo
1GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor
1GB RAM
DirectX 9-capable graphics with 128MB of graphics memory & support for Windows Display Driver Model
Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware and 32-bit-per-pixel color
40GB hard drive (with 15GB free)
DVD-ROM drive

Read more »

Mobile Media Organizer is a digital file manager, player, and converter that supports the Apple iPod (video-compatible versions only). This player also supports Sony PlayStation Portable, letting it serve the needs of more members of your household. Mobile Media Organizer can perform a lot of nifty tricks for your PC and your portable video iPod or PSP. It imports all your PC’s audio, video, and image files. It also can import/rip to the PC your CDs and noncopyright-protected DVDs. It can then convert your files to PSP or iPod video compatible formats.

When it imports from a folder, Mobile Media Organizer segregates audio, video, and stills into separate tabbed views, where you can perform different actions upon them. Because Mobile Media Organizer also works as a media player/organizer on your PC, tasks you can perform are not iPod or PSP specific. Nevertheless, Mobile Media Organizer feels more like a multimedia player trying to stretch its limits than a true cross format media organizer.

In the final analysis, Mobile Media Organizer is a nifty conversion tool and a worthy media player. But if you are looking for a robust, one-stop organizer and editor for all your multimedia files, you’ll likely be disappointed.

If you have files you would like to hide, LockDown Rx might be for you. Rather than throw up shields to prevent unwanted intrusion, LockDown Rx restricts other users from accessing or using the system and data files and functions you specify.

LockDown Rx gives you the option of making files and folders visible but inaccessible, read-only, or a combination thereof. You select what level is appropriate for which files and folders. LockDown Rx has several other options, as well, letting you protect entire drives, prevent anyone from making changes to Internet Explorer settings, disable vulnerable Windows services, or restrict users from performing common but potentially detrimental Windows tasks.

During setup, you establish an admin password. From within the program, you can establish additional user accounts and then either give them the power to make changes or only to lockdown their own personal folder.

When you open the app, a wizard lets you choose a level of security and select files to which you will apply it. File selection is also not overly difficult: You can browse for files and folders or use masks. However, LockDown Rx does not have any built-in masks that automatically locate and select a file category such as program files or multimedia files. The Help utility is less than robust, but the program is easy enough to use without it.

URL: www.horizondatasys.com

Tags: LockDown