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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.

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.

Three products stand out in an evaluation of eight anti-virus software packages: Norton AntVirus 2000; Vet Premium; and McAfee VirusScan 5.0. For Australian computer users, local supplier Vet offers advantages involving immediacy of support.

Integrated development environments (IDE) are expected to include a component palette, form designer, property sheet and code generator along with the standard text editor, compiler and debugger. Inprise's Borland JBuilder 3 implements Java 2 using JDK 1.2 and creates standard Java with no custom tags. The Standard Edition costs $160, the Professional Edition costs $1,270 and the Enterprise Edition costs $3,980. IBM's VisualAge for Java 2.0 also comes in three versions: the free Entry Edition for previewing the program; the $207 Professional Edition for intermediate-level developers of applications requiring easy access to relational databases; and the $6,248 Enterprise Edition. Microsoft Visual J++ 6.0 is well integrated with Visual Studio 6.0 and develops powerful Java applications, but it uses Windows Foundation Class (WFC) components, which may limit application portability. It costs $189 (Standard), $909 (Professional) and $1,799 (Visual Studio Professional). Sybase's $920 PowerJ 3.0 is intended for client/server, electronic commerce, database and other large applications. Inprise's Borland C++Builder 4 focuses on rapid application development, enterprise tools and reusable code. Microsoft's Visual C++ 6.0 looks much like the previous version but adds the Visual Source Safe source code control system and Visual Modeler, among other new tools.

Seven Windows 9x uninstall utilities, including both shareware and commercial programs, are reviewed. Windows programs make so many changes to a system configuration that removing a program without deleting all traces correctly can be disastrous. Even a good uninstaller can make mistakes, and users are advised to back up system files before running them. The best shareware package is Bernd Klaiber's EasyClean 32. It takes account of all changes made to the Registry and system files and is the most powerful low-cost option, despite an annoyingly complex interface. Quarterdeck's CleanSweep earns an Editor's Choice award for its swift removal of most unwanted files, but is perhaps slightly too aggressive. The Safety Sweep feature prevents the deletion of files it judges vital. It sometimes errs on the side of caution, but are advised not to disable it. CleanSweep has an excellent wizard-driven interface.

Just over three years ago, cranking out a cutting-edge site in the early era of the Web required little more than hunkering down with an HTML tag list, a graphics […]

Workgroup management is not enterprise management, but it is becoming an increasingly vital part of the enterprise. As small businesses and departmental workgroups mature and become more diverse, so too […]

Desktop-management suite vendors scramble to plug the enterprise gaps that network managers currently hop over An unfortunate fact of network-administration life is that managing problematic servers and desktops often requires […]

Even an operating system can use a little help from its friends. These seven handy utilities give Windows 95 a boost with features that make your life easier It just […]

Remote control software is the PC world's jack-of-all-trades utility. It fills many roles--from that of remote application control (a poor man's X-Windows) to help-desk support tool. Thanks to 32-bit operating […]

Despite volumes of reviews, opinions, and product announcements, there are only a relative handful of applications written in Sun Microsystems Inc. Java. Although there's no shortage of hype, a paucity […]

Mac Java development environments Score card: While Sun Microsystems Inc. promises to bring Java software to all platforms equally, existing Mac Java tools are aimed squarely at the professional developer […]

Symantec's Cafe 1.0 for Windows 95 and NT Java integrated development system for Windows NT and Windows 95 Strengths * Wizards make project startup a snap * Fully integrated project […]

This look at the new breed of remote control products aims to keep users in touch with the 32-bit world. The first crop of 32-bit, remote control products geared for […]

You've got your remote node in my remote control. No, you've got your remote control in my node. Two great technologies that could work great together. Each solution has its […]

Surfing The Web With 11 Of The Latest Browsers That Offer More Than Meets the Eye The Internet, now an integral part of corporate networking, has set the scene for […]

Like a pair of new boots, it takes a little while to get comfortable with Microsoft Windows 95. But now that your LAN connections are stable and you've customized the […]

Vendor Information Remotely Possible/Dial, $199. Avalan Technology, (508) 429-6482; fax (508) 429-3179. 76206.3602@compuserve.com. Circle reader service #409. CoSession for Windows v2.0, $79 to $699. Triton Technologies, (800) 322-9440, (908) 855-9440; […]