[bjorf]

I've been reading through the threads regarding software recommendations and then reading reviews, etc and have some questions:

For PDFs - seems that foxit gets a lot of play here but the review on cnet of the latest version (4.1.1.0805) at Foxit Reader - Free software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com seems to point out that it's not as good as it was...
cute PDF looks interesting and useful but is it a viewer as well as a creator?
In my first pass through this a couple of months ago VLC was recommended "for everything" - is it also a pdf reader?
cool pdf - any experience?

For anti-whatevers - Microsoft Security Essentials seemed to be the most recommended so I downloaded that. Curious tho that every few days it tells me that I am potentially unprotected - seems in relation to the virus protection. I think I update it but who knows? Anyone else have this issue??

For "cleaning" - this is my first windows based computer and I don't understand the whole cleaning concept. people talk about ccleaner. What exactly does it do? Aren't there some built-in ways to clean, defrag?

Many thanks!

[reflex]

VLC is a media player. It has broad support for video, audio and subtitle formats. I prefer Mplayer myself, but VLC is probably a better program for Windows users.

[nazrix]

Foxit is one of the best, unfortunately over time it got bloated. I would suggest downloading an older version from OldVersion.com

Microsoft Security Essentials can be potentially unprotected due to several reasons that I've seen:
1. OS not up-to-date (missing latest critical patches, etc)
2. Anti-virus not up-to-date (virus definition, patches, etc)
3. OS product key fails validation

Just update your anti-virus and the message will go away.

For "cleaning", ccleaner is the best and it's free. "Cleaning" in this case means cleaning up the registry, which gets cluttered with rubbish after awhile as not all programs properly uninstall themselves, or leave things in the registry on purpose. It also cleans up temporary files left by programs as well as Windows itself, which is pretty crap at housekeeping. This means that Windows will usually start to slow down after a few months.

Defragging means putting the data on your hard disk in order so that the read head doesn't have to go all over the hard disk when reading a file, thus ensuring less wear and tear and slightly faster read speeds.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

[bjorf]

Thanks nazrix - I was wondering where I could get an older version of foxit. Great.

Thanks for the other info too. Helpful.

[rrfranczak3]

whats wrong with Adobe Reader?

as far as old apps try Old Version Downloads - OldApps.com

[bjorf]

Originally Posted by rrfranczak3

whats wrong with Adobe Reader?

as far as old apps try Old Version Downloads - OldApps.com

word is that it's gigantic/bulky and not worth it when space is tight.
Thanks.

[rrfranczak3]

Originally Posted by bjorf

word is that it's gigantic/bulky and not worth it when space is tight.
Thanks.

well on my system with 640gb, space is NEVER tight...like I always say you can never have TOO much disk space..

[bjorf]

Boy, those people are serious over at Foxit. They've put the "ask" toolbar even onto the old version.... I suppose that's what makes it "free".

[rrfranczak3]

I guess somebody has to pay somewhere..

[lauriem04]

Originally Posted by bjorf

I've been reading through the threads regarding software recommendations and then reading reviews, etc and have some questions:

For PDFs - seems that foxit gets a lot of play here but the review on cnet of the latest version (4.1.1.0805) at Foxit Reader - Free software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com seems to point out that it's not as good as it was...
cute PDF looks interesting and useful but is it a viewer as well as a creator?
In my first pass through this a couple of months ago VLC was recommended "for everything" - is it also a pdf reader?
cool pdf - any experience?

For anti-whatevers - Microsoft Security Essentials seemed to be the most recommended so I downloaded that. Curious tho that every few days it tells me that I am potentially unprotected - seems in relation to the virus protection. I think I update it but who knows? Anyone else have this issue??

For "cleaning" - this is my first windows based computer and I don't understand the whole cleaning concept. people talk about ccleaner. What exactly does it do? Aren't there some built-in ways to clean, defrag?

Many thanks!

I have the same problem with MSE on occasion. When I restart the computer the MSE background process doesn't always start itself back up, so I'll get a Windows security warning that says something like "Your computer is potentially unprotected - Microsoft Security Essentials reports that it is turned off." The only way to make the warning go away is to open MSE and turn the software back on manually. After I do that, it seems to be fine. It even updates itself automatically within a minute or two of being turned back on.

In regards to Foxit, I used to use it but recently switched back to Adobe because I was so frustrated with the newest versions. I kept having strange problems with it. For example, on several computers and with several different printers, I was unable to print color PDFs using Foxit (they would all print in black and white, regardless of the settings I used). For most things that wasn't a problem, but some things just need to be printed in color! Not all of my newer docs worked with the older versions of Foxit, so I just gave up on it. I originally stopped using Adobe because of the security vulnerabilities that were revealed a while back, not because of the footprint size, but I can see why it would be a concern on a small SSD/HDD. Personally, I don't think the difference is enough to worry about given how bloated the newer versions of Foxit are becoming.

CutePDF is great - I highly recommend it even though it can't be used as a viewer (the free version, at least).

CCleaner is good, but I personally prefer Wise Cleaner: Wise Registry Cleaner | Wise Disk Cleaner - Keep your PC at peak performance!

It seems to find junk files that other programs miss. The only major inconvenience is that the disk and registry cleaners are separate programs, not integrated like CCleaner is.