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Norton Internet Security 2009 1User/3Pc

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Utilities
from: Symantec

October 01, 2008
I had used Norton Antivirus and Norton Internet Security for many years (2003, 2004, 2005, etc.), but each new version seemed to get slower and slower. Finally I gave up and switched to ZoneLabs' ZoneAlarm security suite for a couple years. ZoneAlarm gave me much better performance for a couple versions, until lately -- when it began slowing down my system, hogging resources, and prompting me for things it shouldn't have been. So halfway through my current ZoneAlarm subscription, I decided I needed to dump it and get something else.

I checked out all sorts of reviews, read what Consumer Reports had to say, and did a demo of several products. I was VERY skeptical when I heard Norton Internet Security 2009 was supposed to be fast, ... Read More:

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Norton Antivirus 2009

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Utilities
from: Symantec

September 15, 2008
I abandoned Norton AV after several years of their bloated, slow products. I never thought I'd bother to try another version of their product since I'm very happy with Kaspersky (another 5 Star product IMO). But since Norton was on sale very cheap, their "Fast and Light" campaign had me intrigued, and independent tests gave it glowing reviews, I decided to give it a shot. I'll have to be honest. I am impressed. It was the easiest, quickest, install of an AV program I've ever used. It's light years faster than the last couple of previous versions, and a dramatic improvement. According to independent test results, the 2009 version is 85% faster in scanning a system than the 2008 version. It also uses about 75% less resources than the competition. ... Read More:

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VMware Fusion 2

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Utilities
from: Smith Micro Software Inc.

October 05, 2008
I was a loyal PC user for nearly twenty years. Five years ago I bought one Mac "for home" and have never looked back. VM Ware has eliminated any residual rationale you might have for sticking with Windows. Think of it like a software nicotine patch.

Some day we may able to stick a wooden stake through the heart of Windows, but for now most of us are stuck with it. VM Ware has developed a way to minimize the pain and aggravation. The software paid for itself multiple times over within the first week when a service pack "upgrade" screwed up several of my core programs. No problem... just delete the virtual installation and roll back to the earlier clone.

I find the virtual environment especially helpful for testing ... Read More:

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Kaspersky Internet Security 2009

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Utilities
from: Kaspersky Lab

August 13, 2008
Software does not work correctly with Windows Vista. Terrible tech support! Tried multiple times to get fix and finally gave up in frustration. Tech support rep kept sending emails for problems that I did not have. I would not recommend this software to anyone.

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Windows Live OneCare 2.0 (Up to 3 Users)

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Utilities
from: Microsoft Software

November 15, 2007
It integrates well with Windows Vista (32 bit). It is virtually transparent. Setup is a breeze.
The re-license is a bit steep though - but it is comparable with the other suites. Seems to me that the re-up should be significantly less that buying the full product off the shelf.

I highly recommend this product.

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Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Standard

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Utilities
from: Nuance Communications, Inc.

August 11, 2008
What a change from version 7.0. we recently updated and found 10 to be so much faster and accurate. It's amazing, really. And using Vista wasn't a problem.

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Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Utilities
from: Nuance Communications, Inc.

August 11, 2008
I was excited to recieve the product however, even though it stated that it works with Windows Vista it does not if your computer is a 64 bit computer. If the program works it works very well but you may sometimes have to reset the speaking mode. It is though a program worth having once you work out all the bugs.

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McAfee Total Protection 2009 3-User

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Utilities
from: McAfee

September 07, 2008
I have been using McAfee since 2001. Every year the protection is better than the year before.

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Norton Ghost 14.0

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Utilities
from: Symantec

February 18, 2008
Purchased Norton Ghost to provide a full system backup in the event of a hard drive crash. The installation went smoothly, things worked as advertised, backups have been accomplished but won't know the true picture unless I have a hard disk crash. I am not using this nor did I intend to use it for incremental data backups.

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Acronis True Image Home 2009

Childrens Toy Shop > Software > Utilities
from: Acronis

September 12, 2008
I installed the trial version of this product after reading numerous positive reviews of it. I'm not sure what went wrong, but after doing my first backup and completing the other steps to create the disaster recovery environment, I got the dreaded BSOD. After trying several times and failing to boot into safe mode (or any other mode), I had to use Norton GoBack to restore my drive. Thank God I had that installed and that it worked. I won't try True Image again. Those who wish to should do so with caution.