Spybot – Search & Destroy detects and removes spyware, a relatively new kind of threat not yet covered by common anti-virus applications. Spyware silently tracks your surfing behaviour to create a marketing profile for you that is transmitted without your knowledge to the compilers and sold to advertising companies. If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you haven’t intentionally installed, if your browser crashes inexplicably, or if your home page has been “hijacked” (or changed without your knowledge), your computer is most probably infected with spyware. Even if you don’t see the symptoms, your computer may be infected, because more and more spyware is emerging. Spybot-S&D is free, so there’s no harm giving it a try to see if something has invaded your computer.

To see a list of threats Spybot-S&D can remove, in the navigation bar at the left click on Support –> Threats. For an introduction to Spybot-S&D, please read the tutorial. If you fear incompatibility with other software you are now using, although we can assure you that there is no danger you can review our compatibility overview which lists some software whose compatibility has been analyzed.

Spybot-S&D can also clean usage tracks, an interesting function if you share your computer with other users and don’t want them to see what you have been working on. And for professional users, Spybot-S&D allows you to fix some registry inconsistencies and extended reports. A list of all the application’s features is also available.

IObit Security 360 PRO is an advanced malware & spyware removal utility that detects, removes the deepest infections, and protects your PC from various of potential spyware, adware, trojans, keyloggers, bots, worms, and hijackers. With the unique “Dual-Core” engine and the heuristic malware detection, IObit Security 360 PRO detects the most complex and deepest spyware and malware in a very fast and efficient way. IObit Security 360 PRO has a real-time malware protection and frequent automatic updating for prevention of zero-day security threats. IObit Security 360 PRO can work with your Antivirus for a superior PC security.

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VLC media player is a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols without external codec or program.

It can also be used as a server to stream in unicast or multicast in IPv4 or IPv6 on a high-bandwidth network.

VLC can play:

* MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 / DivX files from a hard disk, a CD-ROM drive, and so on
* DVDs, VCDs, and Audio CDs
* From satellite cards (DVB-S)
* Several types of network streams: UDP/RTP Unicast, UDP/RTP Multicast, HTTP, RTSP, MMS, etc.
* From acquisition or encoding cards (on GNU/Linux and Windows only)

DOWNLOAD

Features :

- Integration with web browsers Internet Explorer, Opera, Netscape Navigator, Mozilla, Mozilla Firefox
- Allows to download some files simultaneously – Allows to download a file simultaneously in some streams
- Allows to download a file simultaneously from several sources
- the Integrated web spider
- There are localised versions
- Allows to download files from network BitTorrent (only from version 1.80 Beta 1)
- Allows to download files from a network eD2k.

There are really three things that I always tell people to invest money in when buying and setting up a new computer system. The first one is the display, since this part of the system will typically outlast the computer unit several times over. The second device is the mouse. Finally, the keyboard.

While there are is an ocean of choices out there when it comes to keyboards, very few are made well. Most of the keyboards you find on the market today are terrible. Keys fade easily, keys become sticky/stuck, poor materials, and sometimes functions break down after extended use. Because your computing experience is so deeply tied into the keyboard, it’s important to know what you’re getting.

Things to look for in a keyboard:

- A company known to make quality keyboards
- Key finish: you’ll want a keyboard that looks like it’ll last through heavy use
- N-key rollover: does the keyboard flake out after 3 or 4 simultaneous presses?
- Quality key-travel
- Build quality: do the keys look like they’re loose and are going to pop?

In our experience, keyboards with tons of added fancy features tend to lack on the build quality side. Either keys will become stuck after use (not register), or the letters or coating will fade. For example, we have seen so many keyboards from Logitech fade with use. The black coating on the keys will eventually rub off, revealing a unsightly white plastic.

If you’re a serious touch typist and or spend a lot of time playing games, there is no exception to investing into a good keyboard. That’s why, we pick the Das Keyboard as one of the best keyboards you can buy.

We pick the Das Keyboard Ultimate because of its quality but also due to its blank nature.

The Ultimate is completely blank. There are no letters or symbols on the keys at all. All the keys are black, and because the plastic is black, you’ll never experience fade. Of course, you’ll struggle to get around if you’re not a good touch typist. Yes, this keyboard is not for the two-finger key pecker. It’s a serious keyboard. Das makes a version of the ultimate with labels, but we prefer the blank.

What makes Das Keyboards great? First and foremost: quality. From the very first key stroke, you can immediately feel the high quality in the keyboard’s structure, key mechanism, and key travel. The following are specs for the Das Keyboard Ultimate:

German-engineered mechanical key switches:
Das Keyboard compares to the legendary IBM model M. Its best-in-class mechanical gold-plated key switches provide a tactile and audio click that makes typing a pure joy. The keyboard has been designed to produce greater speed and accuracy by providing responsive tactile feedback using gold-plated, slightly clicky, best-in-class, 40-million actuation mechanical key switches.

N-key rollover:
Model S allows full n-key rollover and supports up to 12 simultaneous key presses.

USB 2.0 hub:
The high-speed USB hub allows you to sync and charge your iPhone, iPod or any USB compatible devices.

Extra-long USB cable:
Das Keyboard sports a 2-meter (6.6ft) cable that goes through your desk grommet to keep your workspace neat and tidy.

Indeed the focus on the keyboard is clearly quality. There aren’t any fancy controls, LCD screens, and unnecessary clutter. The focus is entirely on the typing experience. There are no distractions, just pure typing pleasure. We were previously using a chiclette keyboard, like the Apple aluminum keyboard, which is actually very good. We have a very positive impression of the Apple keyboard, but moving to the Das Ultimate instantly improved our typing experience.

Because you can hear and feel your typing, you type more confidently. The clickiness part of the keyboard may annoy some users, or at least annoy nearby people. However, it’s your fingers that are doing the typing, so that’s what you should care about most.

Those who have used some of the original Keytronic keyboards will feel at home on the Das Keyboard. But the Ultimate feels even better.

After several days with the keyboard, we’re convinced that the Das Keyboard Ultimate is really one of the best products that serious computer users should invest in. Best of all, when you have the completely blank Ultimate, people won’t be able to immediately screw with your computer if they happened to sit down in your chair.

Our friends over at Ars Technica have a review of the Das Keyboard Professional, which is the same as the blank Ultimate but with key inscriptions. Gizmodo also did a quick review of the Pro, which has lettering.

Nvidia has denied speculative reports that claim the company is considering entering the x86 CPU business.

CNet reports that, when Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang was asked about the possibility of Nvidia coming up with its own x86 chip technology in a phone interview Thursday, the chief executive officer answered with a resolute “No.”

Rumors that Nvidia had plans to enter the x86 CPU market resurfaced last week. With Nvidia not having the license to produce chipsets for the latest generation of Intel chips and Intel moving towards integrating graphics cores onto its CPUs, analysts speculated that Nvidia was likely to enter the x86 game.

”We believe Nvidia could enter the x86 CPU business,” said analyst Doug Freedman of Broadpoint AmTech, in an EETimes story. ”Nvidia could become a supplier of x86 CPUs by necessity to preserve both GPU and chipset revenue.”

However it seems Nvidia has other plans for the time being. When asked about the company’s plans for an x86 CPU, Huang squashed rumors and detailed Nvidia’s plans for the future.

“Nvidia’s strategy is very, very clear. I’m very straightforward about it. Right now, more than ever, we have to focus on visual and parallel computing.” Huang went on to detail where his company sees its best opportunities for growth. “Our strategy is to proliferate the GPU into all kinds of platforms for growth,” he said. “GPUs in servers for parallel computing, for supercomputing–and cloud computing with our GPU is a fabulous growth opportunity–and streaming video.”

The CEO also referenced Tegra and the Zune HD in stating that the company is aiming at getting its GPUs into the lowest power platforms and driving mobile computing.

Nope, still not working.

So the saga continues. While tinkering around with a developer build of the next version of Snow Leopard Mac OS X 10.6.2, modders found that netbooks running an Intel Atom processor were unable to boot Apple’s latest OS version.

Of course, the only way for anyone to discover this change was if someone was trying to run Mac OS X on a PC-based netbook. Nevertheless, this lead to much speculation that Apple is actively trying to lock out the netbook hackintosh crowd.

Then word came that a newer build of 10.6.2 brought back Atom support, making the modding community feel good and safe again. Sadly, it turns out that newer build was a fake and that the very latest developer seed still doesn’t have Atom support – at least not on known hackintosh configurations.

So for now, it seems that hackintosh netbook owners will be living in uncertainty.

Pineview Atom is coming in time for CES.

We’ve been looking at netbooks and nettops based off of the Intel Atom N270 et al for a very long time, but soon there will be new chips to replace the old.

X-bit labs claims to have information pointing to a December 21 announcement for devices that will launch January 4, just in time for the Consumer Electronics Show.

The report goes on to state that Intel is planning for a quick transition from the old chips over to the new platform, which will feature faster performance and an integrated graphics core.

While much of this is still floating around in speculation space, the new parts are expected to line up as follows:

• - Intel Atom N450: single-core with Hyper-Threading support, 1.66 GHz, 512KB cache, x86-64, BGA437 package, $63 price-point;
• - Intel Atom D510: dual-core with Hyper-Threading support, 1.66 GHz, 1MB cache, x86-64, BGA437 package, $63 price-point;
• - Intel Atom D410: single-core with Hyper-Threading support, 1.66 GHz, 512KB cache, x86-64, BGA437 package, $43 price-point;