Recommended products
Dr.Web anti-virus for Windows
Best anti-virus. Dr. Web anti-virus for Windows is one of the top names in anti-virus software. It boasts an excellent virus detection rate, and is particularly good at curing or repairing files that have been infected by a virus where other products would force you to delete them.
Dr.Web has fewer frills and uses less resources than other leading anti-virus products, making it a great choice for older PCs and netbooks.
Spyware Doctor
Best anti-spyware. The award-winning Spyware Doctor can detect and remove spyware, adware, trojans, dialers, keyloggers and hijackers from your computer, while it's Immunizer and OnGuard component actively protect it from further attacks. The Live Update feature keeps Spyware Doctor effective against the latest threats.
Good spyware protection is essential, especially if you use Internet Explorer which is most often targeted by malware writers, and you can't get better than Spyware Doctor.
Comodo Personal Firewall
Best personal firewall. Comodo Personal Firewall is a powerful Internet security software that protects your computer from intrusion and warns you about possible dangers from Trojans, spyware and other malicious software.
A nice thing about this product is that it is FREE. But don't let that make you think there is anything wrong with it. In fact, Comodo Personal Firewall is so good that it is sold very successfully as a commercial product under another name.
AJC Active Backup
Best backup software. Everyone should back up the files on their computer, but nobody does - that's why we sell so many data recovery utilities. AJC Active Backup is a backup program that you don't have to remember to use. Once you have installed it and set it up, you can forget about it. It backs up your work, as you work, each time you save changes. What's more, it stores every copy of file or document that you save, not just the latest version, so if you make a mistake you can go back to before you messed it up. No Windows PC that is used for any serious purpose should be without AJC Active Backup.
Registry Mechanic
Best registry cleaner. Your computer registry is a central database for system information and personal application settings. Errors can affect system stability, while redundant information wastes space and harms performance. Registry Mechanic is the most reliable, trusted registry cleaner. It can speed up your computer and make it work more reliably by removing redundant and incorrect registry entries. An attractive and well-designed interface makes this registry cleaner easy to use.
BitZipper 2009
Best archive manager. Nearly every PC user comes across a Zip file, Cab file, Rar file, 7-zip file, ISO file or some other type of file which is an archive containing several files compressed into one. BitZipper 2009 is an (almost) universal archive manager that can open these common archive types and many, many more. It's also a fast and flexible backup tool (just in case we haven't talked you into buying one of the other backup products.) You'll find it very useful!
Uneraser
Best undelete program. Everyone deletes files they shouldn't have once in a while. But it's nearly always possible to get them back. Uneraser can recover deleted files from hard drives, floppy drives and other types of storage media. It can recover files that were accidentally erased, even if you have emptied the Recycle Bin since they were deleted. A preview mode lets you see thumbnails of your files before you recover them.
Every PC needs something like this, because the sooner you act after you realize a file is lost, the better your chances of recovering it. Install a trial version of Uneraser now so it's there if you need it.