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With so many potential threats on the Internet, it is an absolute necessity to prepare your computer for the Web. Whenever I get a new computer, the first programs I download include antivirus, antispyware, and firewall software. Frankly, if you don't have at least these three types of programs running on your computer, it's like driving at night without your lights on--sure it's possible, but don't be surprised if it ends in a crash (har har).

Fortunately, there are a lot of great security programs available at Download.com. Recently I've written Killer Downloads about both the best firewalls and the top antivirus programs. This week I'm doing a software roundup of a different type. In recent scouting of new (and new to me) software I came across some great Windows programs that work behind the scenes to keep your computer running smoothly and also keep your data secure.… Read more

In the old days, you'd buy a RAID adapter card to let your computer attach to multiple hard drives that provided data capacity and protection. Nowadays, with flash memory, the storage fits right on the card.

Addonics Technologies announced a $50 PCI card Tuesday that's got four CompactFlash card slots. The cards can be configured as four individual drives, a single large volume, or set up with RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks) 0, 1 or 10 to stripe data across multiple cards or mirror data from one onto another.

Note that there's no support for RAID … Read more

And just when you thought there couldn't possibly be any more different trim lines for the Xbox 360, Microsoft goes and releases the worst kept secret in all of gaming, the Xbox 360 Arcade. While it's essentially just a souped-up version of the Core, the Arcade 360 does come with a few extras that may attract some uninformed buyers. Plus, the $280 price tag is awfully close to the Wii's cost of $250--so in theory, speaking in terms of price, an Xbox 360 Arcade would be the logical alternative to a Wii this holiday season.

So what does it come with? Bundled inside you'll find a wireless controller, unlike the Core's original wired offering, HDMI-out support, a 256MB memory card, and five Xbox Live Arcade games (Pac-Man Championship Edition, Uno, Luxor 2, Boom Boom Rocket, and Feeding Frenzy). All this in an effort to get consumers more familiar with Xbox Live Arcade and what it has to offer.

The price is certainly right, but here's why I don't think you should even bother with it.… Read more

Before you plunk down for an external drive, check out the clever yet poorly named SATA HDD Stage Rack. It's like an iPod dock, but for spare SATA hard drives you may have lying around. GeekSTuff4U.com is selling the SATA HDD Stage Rack for the odd but reasonable price of $46.79. The dock accepts 3.5-inch desktop drives and--with an insert--2.5-inch laptop drives, and it works with both PCs and Macs. It's unclear if the dock can be powered solely by USB, or whether it's necessary to make use of the dock's DC-in … Read more

In this day of $49,590 hearing aids and $150,000 gear shift knobs, we're not quite sure how Bissol's 4GB flash drive qualifies as "luxury," but that's how it's being marketed. Sure, its brass finish is nice enough to look at, but it's not exactly a Dupont.

Still, Engadget says it's made with Old World care like a Swiss watch, so somebody is bound to appreciate it. And at least it's being up front about not being gold

It looks as if TiVo is finally beginning to roll out some long-promised software upgrades to its high-def DVRs, the TiVo HD and TiVo Series3. Hot on the heels of last week's 9.1 software upgrade (which enabled support for Rhapsody's subscription music service), some users are already getting an upgrade to version 9.2. In addition to improving the Amazon Unbox viewing experience, the latest upgrade is said to add support for connecting external eSATA hard drives, thus expanding the number of recordable hours of TV--a feature promised when those DVRs were first released. TiVo's remaining … Read more

Jobo on Monday announced the Giga One Ultra device, a portable hard drive for backing up photos in the field. That's a notch more spacious than the 120GB of the Giga One predecessor or the Spectator device, which unlike the Giga One devices have a color screen.

The drives have slots for a variety of flash memory modules, including CompactFlash, SD and SDHC, Memory Stick and Memory Stick Pro. Photographers can back up their data while on the road, an idea that's especially useful if you're running out of flash card space.

The new models can download … Read more

The computer fashion runway is getting crowded, but the models may not be what you'd expect: Some of the more recent stuff-strutting entrants are portable hard drives.

Manufacturers of mundane hardware are doing whatever they can to attract new consumers, whether it be Western Digital's flamboyant colors or LaCie's modern art. Now Japan's Evergreen is appealing to the tactile senses, Akihabara News reports, with a storage box covered in leather.

Regardless (or irregardless) of your feelings about tanned cowhide, you've got to give these guys credit for trying. Evergreen, after all, has even attempted to … Read more