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Soft4Ever's $40.95 Look 'n' Stop stands out in an evaluation of seven firewall software products. It is characterized as 'the most powerful firewall' and is highly recommended.

Between your private intranet, links to your ISP, the Internet, Web and proxy servers, DNS and DHCP servers, firewalls, routers, VPN gateways, switches--you name it--there are more pieces involved in [...]

Sonic Foundry's $949 Vegas Video 3 stands out in an evaluation of 10 digital video editing applications. It is a serious rival for Apple's Final Cut Pro 3.

THAT OLD saying "a little goes a long way" is well suited to Amherst, NH-based Ektron, maker of low-cost content management applications and content authoring tools. At least that's the […]

Symantec's $AU139 Norton Internet Security 2002 4.0 stands out in an evaluation of six parental-control programs. Besides its parental-control capabilities, it includes Norton Anti-Virus, Norton Personal Firewall and Norton Privacy Control.

As VPNs take on commodity status, vendors are adding features and functionality to distinguish their products and offer more bang for the buck. It's now common for VPN gateways to [...]

Apple's new iBook laptop and iPhoto software, as well as Microsoft's PowerPoint for Mac OS X, appear tailor-made for presenters. We tested each of them to find out how presenter-friendly […]

A new class of easy-to-use authoring tools is transforming DVD creation from a complicated craft into automated task for home computers. The manufacturers say these consumer-oriented products are ideal for […]

Macromedia's Dreamweaver is selected as NetGuide's 'Pick of the Bunch' in an evaluation of three Web authoring programs. For those looking for a simpler, easier-to-use tool, Microsoft's FrontPage 2002 is recommended.

Over the past year, VPN gateway vendors have significantly enhanced their wares, according to the results of the latest BCR Best-in-Test hands-on lab-test review. Each of the four products we [...]

GlobalSCAPE's CuteFTP stands out in an evaluation of 14 File Transfer Protocol (FTP) clients and is recommended as 'the best option for most people.' Among the products reviewed are three Macintosh FTP clients and three Linux FTP clients.

FileMaker's FileMaker Pro 5.5 database program wins out in a comparison with Microsoft's Access 2002, mainly because Filemaker is easy to use. However, differences between the products are minimal in many areas, and both are recommended.

Ubi Soft Entertainment's $89.95 F1 Racing Championship stands out in an evaluation of four computer games. The product's graphics, the most important part of a driving simulation, are nearly photorealistic. The product's sound effects are less impressive.

Three accounting software products stand out in an evaluation of eight. The three, named as 'Editor's Choice' winners, are the following: FinancePlus Software's $5,000 FinancePlus 3.2, in the category of Mid-Range Enterprise Accounting Software; MYOB's $1,095 MYOB Premier Accounting 5.0, in the category of Small Business Accounting Software; and Intuit's $165 Quicken Cashbook 8.2, in the category of Entry Level Accounting Software.

Eight anti-virus packages are reviewed. Infections can cause minor annoyance or destroy all data on a computer's hard drive. How much to spend on antivirus software depends on what a PC is used for. Those with Net connections have more complex needs than those without. Command Software's Command AntiVirus is based on the F-Prot engine, which has a reputation for speed, and also provides solid protection. McAfee's VirusScan 5.5 includes a data backup utility, but updates to the program must be applied manually and it failed to clean a well-known virus in tests. Symantec's Norton AntiVirus is one of the most powerful packages , offering strong security to the point of being a nuisance, and displays a vast amount of onscreen information, some of which may be misleading. The Editor's Choice product is PC-Cillin 2000, sold in Australia by Manaccom for the bargain price of $79.95. It offers very strict file-filtering rules and should eliminate most problems if configured correctly.

MusicMatch's Jukebox 5.1 stands out in a comparison of 11 ripping-utility software products. MusicMatch's Jukebox is well-designed, easy to use, and fast. It provides portable player connectivity, state-of-the-art cataloguing and Internet radio. Microsoft's Windows Media Player 7 is also an excellent product, and it is 'Highly commended,' but it is limited to Microsoft's WMA format.

efront's Power Archiver 2000 6.0 compression utlity did well in tests of 10 such programs and is named an Australian Personal Computer 'Editor's Choice.' Power Archiver is easy to use and excellent help files come with it. It is also free. WinZip Computing's $29 WinZip 8.0 also stands out and is 'highly commended.'

Lotus Development's $108.50 Lotus Organizer 6.0 stands out in an evaluation of 12 personal information management (PIM) software packages. This relatively inexpensive, feature-rich product is easy to use, and it has an intuitive interrface. It has a rather basic daily planner compared with those in other PIMs. Another product, Multiactive's $360 Maximizer 6.0, which primarily targets salespeople, is 'Highly commended.'