Its about time of the year that I did another A-List. A detail of my favorite software that I am installing/using these days. It's probably not going to be much different from the previous list, but here goes…
OS:
Windows XP Media Center editon with Office 2003.
Installed this version of Windows so I could stream video to my Xbox 360.
Virus/Spyware:
I have ditched the Symantec AntiVirus 10 and the Giant Anti Spyware (now known as Microsoft Defender) and am using ZoneAlarm Security Suite. Since having this installed I have had nothing unusual turn up on the PC, only cookies. Even with Symantec and Giant installed before, if I ran a scan it always found something, but ZoneAlarm seems excellent! Plus with the ZoneAlarm firewall built in you can't go wrong.
Browser:
Firefox, firefox, firefox!!! Get it! This is a no-brainer really. Since using this my spyware infections have literally dropped off the planet. I have also installed the FasterFox extension which makes it even faster! I also have the Web Developer Toolbar installed into Firefox which makes checking and testing CSS changes in my blog all the easier. It also makes me into a god when helping people over at the Blogger Help Group.
Torrent Sites:
I still use torrents frequently and they are the three sites that I use most often.
I have started using uTorrent to download torrent files as I found that the webs most popular torrent client, Azureus was big, bloated, built from Java and made my router hang all the time (despite its numerous awards) . uTorrent is small, runs from a folder with no installation needed and is fast! I have also found that on my 2mb ADSL line, if I limit my upload to 18kbps on each torrent, the download speed goes up like a rocket (seeds pending out course). I am thinking of doing a basic "uTorrent users guide" soon – so watch this space.
P2P Apps:
None.
Yep – thats right – none!
I have given up on using these. The last time I was bothering, Warez was still my favorite but now that the torrents have really picked up and downloading stuff does not seem so important any more, I have stopped using it.
Bookmarks:
Some new bookmarks that I go to each day are the Del.icio.us popular links, my Bloglines subscriptions and the Digg.com homepage. There is always something new and amazing on there to look at over lunch. I have started using Del.icio.us more to store my bookmarks now. With Firefox's Live Bookmarks feature, they are available immediately regardless of if I am at home or work.
Recap:
Away Goal:
ZoneAlarm, uTorrent, Del.icio.us, Digg, Torrents
Own Goal:
Symantec, Giant Antispyware, P2P apps, Azureus
Technorati Tags: a-list, symantec, zonelabs, zonealarm, spyware, virus, microsoft, defender, bittorrent, utorrent, azureus, firefox, media center, fasterfox, delicious, bloglines, digg
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April 13, 2006 at 9:47 am
I use Kaspersky Anti Virus which has been fantastic, I’ve been using it for 2 years and have had NOT A SINGLE ATTACK/VIRUS etc….
worth a mention on bittorrents is http://www.newnova.org, although not as big as mininova, is still “Up there”.
Firefox is the daddy though – thats for sure, I doubt IE will ever be better.
April 13, 2006 at 10:12 am
I use F Secure anti virus and have done for the last couple of years with no complaints.
I’ve not had the problems you seem to have had with Azureus.
As for BT sites I still use Demonoid and recently Dime-a-dozen (which is legal music downloads only)but thats about it and I dont use any P2P things anymore either.
April 13, 2006 at 10:29 am
I think that the issues I had with Azureus were more to do with my Netgear router than anything else.
There is plenty of discussion on the web regarding issues with the router maxing out on connections and thinking it was having a denial of service attack, decides to go up its own arsehole and lock up.
Even with Azureus installed and not working – the fault was still present! After I uninstalled it… bingo – all ok.
April 13, 2006 at 10:56 am
if you love firefox
http://www.firefoxflicks.com/flick/index.php?id=19542&c=false
April 14, 2006 at 11:35 am
i second and also endorse you to use kaspersky.. and more exactly kaspersky personal pro 5.0 that is..
Azureus?… dear god taoski.. talk to when you need god darknet apps..
April 25, 2006 at 3:16 pm
[...] See this site here for a review of the Azureus, uTorrent and Transmission (mac only) bittorrent clients. As per my recent A-List, uTorrent comes out on top: When you see my results, just remember that I was running a specific case. My hardware probably isn’t close to what you are running and I doubt you would be downloading such a large amount of data as I was, or at least from such an active torrent. However, in my case uTorrent seems like the definite choice for a simple BitTorrent client. uTorrent does everything you could ask from a BitTorrent client and it does it without breaking a sweat. Azureus still has its place in this world, besides being compatible with nearly every operating system, Azureus also supports plug-ins and has an extensive Wiki that can answer nearly any question you have. Either way, no matter which client you choose, I am sure you will be satisfied as both clients make it very easy to enjoy the benefits of BitTorrent and open up this large world of networks to the common user. [...]