Computer and internet briefs

Gadget News - Wednesday December 12, 2007

Computer and internet briefs

Washington - Spyware can be used to track your every move on the PC without your knowledge. That's why every PC user should have an anti-spyware toolkit. Ad-aware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com) is free, reliable, and a staple for many. Two programs -SpyCop, http://www.spycop.com/) 49.95 dollars, and SpyDetect 29.95 dollars - uncover snooping programs installed on a hard drive.

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Washington - When it comes to hard drives, quiet is in. Hard disk manufacturers are paying attention to how much noise their hard drives make. Drives from some manufacturers, such as Seagate and Western Digital, are being designed specifically with noise control in mind. Before you purchase your next hard drive, check the manufacturer's web site to see whether any mention is made of how loud the drive is.

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Washington - Memtest86+ (http://www.memtest.org/#downiso) is a free memory testing application that you can download and use to put your computer's RAM through a thorough test. Download one of the pre-compiled bootable packages and copy or burn it to whichever media you can boot your PC from other than the hard drive. Packages for CD- ROM, USB key, and floppy are available. Once started, Memtest86+ will run exhaustive tests on your RAM to determine whether any errors exist.

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Washington - Still looking for the best sized LCD display? If you're still working with old-style cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors, you can buy LCD screens that are rated at one or two inches smaller than your current CRT monitor and still retain the same amount of screen real estate. An LCD rated at 18 inches, for example, will give you a bit more screen real estate than the typical 19-inch CRT. But many people nowadays consider LCDs of 20 inches or more best for Vista and other modern operating systems.

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Washington - Inkjet printers designed to print photographs must be used with recommended photographic paper. Otherwise, your photographs will not look as you intended. The exception is when you purchase or create special printer "profiles" - software that tells your inkjet printer about the special properties of each paper you use.

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