clean

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and that's especially true when it comes to spyware; wouldn't you rather protect your system than spend hours trying to rid it of malicious visitors? SpywareBlaster is a simple program that provides protection from ActiveX-based software and unwanted cookies for both Firefox and Internet Explorer users.

SpywareBlaster has a simple interface that will be easy for even novices to navigate. The main screen shows the protection status for Internet Explorer, restricted Web sites, and Firefox. By default, protection is disabled for each of these, but you can easily … Read more

CleanMyDrive goes beyond being a simple cleaning app: it combines all the features Finder lacks in drive management. Helped by its nice design and clever user interface, the free app feels like native OS X, providing information about the available space on all mounted drives; users can also eject all drives with just one click.

After installation, CleanMyDrive takes its place in the Menu bar and pops up its sleek user interface showing all mounted drives, and even disk images. The app provides information about the storage capability of each drive, as well as monitoring free space and junk on … Read more

ARO 2012 is the latest version of a longstanding Registry cleaner and optimizer. The look is familiar, but ARO 2012 offers several upgrades over previous versions, such as improved browser cleaning and user-friendlier settings as well as new tweaks that can yield better NTFS performance, faster startups, and improved CPU utilization. ARO 2012 also backs up and optimizes the Registry. You can schedule automatic cleanings, too.

ARO 2012's installer informed us that it would scan our PC as soon as it closed. The first scan is always important with software like ARO since it establishes a baseline, and ours … Read more

It was with great skepticism that I approached PhoneClean. I received an e-mail from the developer, iMobie, claiming that this free Windows app would magically allow me to reclaim storage space on my iPhone and iPad without jailbreaking and without deleting any apps or photos, videos, music, or other media content. As iMobie explained it, PhoneClean works its magic by removing long-term caches, cookies, and temporary and junk files generated by many apps or the result of failed iTunes syncs.

It sounded too good to be true.

However, since I have the smallest capacity iPhone 4S and iPad 2 and install many apps each week in an attempt to bring you, dear reader, reports on how to use the latest and greatest and most helpful apps, I am always up against the limit. Thus, I submitted my iPad to the mercy of PhoneClean.… Read more

Facebook reported that its greenhouse gas emissions from data centers, office space, employee commuting and air travel, data center construction and sever transportation totaled about 285,000 metric tonnes in 2011. It takes the same amount of energy to serve each active Facebook user as it would to produce one medium latte, three large bananas or a couple glasses of wine, according to the post.

Facebook's energy sources were 23 percent clean and renewable, 27 percent coal, 17 percent … Read more

Uniblue, maker of popular PC utilities SpeedUpMyPC, DriverScanner, and MaxiDisk, has just released the newest version of its all-around performance solution PowerSuite.

Along with a minor name change from PowerSuite to Uniblue Powersuite, this 2013 version shows off a completely revamped interface that Uniblue says is designed for all levels of users, ranging from novices to experts. Now, all of the key functions are divided up among three panels: Speed tools, System optimization, and Disk optimization. In addition, upon startup, you can quickly run a full scan of your system by clicking the large, scan button up top.

With Uniblue … Read more

Introducing Cosmos, Support.com's brand-new suite of system care tools that's meant to clean, optimize, and secure your Windows PC.

As is typical with Support.com products, much of the functionality of Cosmos is wrapped in a single, comprehensive dashboard. There are a few tabs and panels, but no exhaustive drop-down menus (thank goodness). Overall, this design seems to suit Cosmos quite well, as it makes the program more visual and easier to use.

Everything Cosmos has to offer is broken down in the tabs along the left side of the interface: Security and Privacy, Backup and Recovery, … Read more

Don't be alarmed if you open up your Facebook account and get a large warning message that says, "Your computer or network might be infected."

Facebook announced today that its security team has joined a consortium of computer security experts working to clean up malicious malware called DNSChanger. As a result, the social network can now notify victims, who may have infected computers, and help them figure out how to rid their networks of the botnet. (See full warning below).

"Facebook's Product Security Team is working constantly to protect users from malicious content and malware … Read more

I'm proud to introduce the first episode of CNET Update, our new tech news show. Every weekday afternoon, CNET Update delivers the top tech stories of the day, exploring why it matters and how it impacts your life. The show keeps a close eye on emerging trends, hot devices and new apps. As your host, I'll also give you a heads up about upcoming news and announcements.

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