I’ve updated my Favorite Software list. These are programs I have installed on the computer I use every day. I trust and recommend every program on this list.
Since I last updated the list, I’ve added several programs and deleted just a handful. Gone are Napster, Hello (from Picasa), and Snapstream BeyondTV.
The list of newly added programs includes a few that I have been using a lot lately:
- BlogJet is an amazingly useful tool for creating and posting entries to a blog, with support for just about every blogging platform out there
- Laplink Gold 12.1, despite some ease-of-use problems, is still the most powerful file-synchronization and remote-control program around
- Onfolio 2.0 is quickly turning into my favorite research tool, with excellent capabilities for keeping track of Web pages and RSS feeds
- WinRAR Archiver has supplanted WinZip as my favorite archiving tool
Visit the Favorite Software page for the full list.
Ed Bott 
You surprise me though by just putting Office OneNote and not Office OneNote 2003 SP1, since SP1 added a tremendous amount of functionality to the product.
Good catch. Yes, I agree that SP1 is a huge improvement. I updated the page to include that detail.
Everytime I think I have finally settled on using the native Windows Disk Defragmentation program, Ed puts out an new version of the list and Diskeeper is still on it. π And once again, no antispyware or anti-adware software. I know there is a deep message here somewhere.
Ed, if you don’t mind me asking, do you use the Windows firewall or the Trend Micro firewall?
Ken, look closer. Microsoft AntiSpyware is now on the list. (Isn’t it?) I have has both Ad-Aware and Spybot installed on this computer at various times but took it off because I don’t need a scanning tool. I’m giving MSAS a try to see if its active protection features are intrusive. So far they’re almost invisible.
I use the Trend Micro Firewall on my notebook. At the moment I have no firewall running on my main computer, which is behind a router. That’s not a strategy I recommend for everyone, and I’d say more often than not I have either the Windows Firewall or the Trend Micro firewall running.
Totally agree with BlogJet Β its ease of use over competitors like ecto wins out. And while I’ve been keeping my eye on Onfolio and sharing results with other testers, I’ve been testing another Laplink product I was impressed with: ShareDirect. Ed, I had two contacts today who are building lists like yours Β a great idea to let readers know what you like and what you use.
I just edited the page. Note that the correct name of the Microsoft program is Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware. I had it alphabetized wrong.
Ed:
Oops, I didn’t notice Microsoft Windows antispyware the first time. Sorry about that. π I don’t use Ad Aware on my computers either — I don’t need it — but I have used it with lots of success to remove crud from other computers. I have had minor problems with Spybot when using it for the same purpose (I never get spyware on my own machines, either).
Has the Tend Micro firewall ever given you problems? My big concern about it is that it isn’t on the certified firewall list at ICSA Labs. Then again, neither is the Windows firewall, but I give it a pass because presumably Microsoft knows its own OS’s security requirements better than anyone and also because it has never given me any problems.
Ken
The default settings in the Trend Micro firewall block inbound Remote Desktop connections. I use RD to connect from my notebook to my desktop, so I avoid the TM firewall.
I haven’t checked the ICSA Labs certifications on this category. The last time I looked at the site it seemed somewhat stale. There’s been a lot of merger activity there in the last year or two and it might have got lost in the shuffle.
ICSA seems to be up to date on antivirus products, but the only PC Firewall products they have certified are CA (Zone Alarm, I presume), McAfee, and Symantec. The site itself says that the certifications for PC firewalls were last updated on January 6, 2005. The antivirus list was last updated at the end of February.
Ken