optimize

Cocktail is both useful and fun for inveterate Mac tinkerers and would-be power users (that is, power users who aren't hard-core enough to use the command line).

This multipurpose utility can help you keep your computer happy and healthy, giving you access to scores of tweaks and optimizations pulled together from various utilities, preferences, third-party hacks, and command-line tools. Cocktail can help you with routine maintenance and customization across your disks, system, files, network, and interface. Cocktail is organized around these five areas, with highly customizable options for everything from clearing caches and repairing permissions to changing the appearance … Read more

When you install and uninstall a lot of software, as we do, it's easy for your computer to become cluttered with a lot of useless leftovers. Registry Optimizer Free is a comprehensive tool that can scan for and get rid of invalid Registry entries, junk files, and privacy threats. Although the program did a very thorough sweep of our machine, the free version only allows you to correct three problems at a time.

The program's interface is straightforward, with a large Scan button and a few intuitive options for customizing how the program works. You can select any … Read more

The rap on AOL used to be that it was "the Internet on training wheels," yet many solid Netizens cut their i-teeth on its superfriendly apps. AOL Computer Checkup Lite continues AOL's tradition of making things as easy as possible for inexperienced users, with an ultrasimple interface asking simple questions about your PC experience. Not to worry; it doesn't actually do anything but make recommendations about your system's health. That's when you should start to worry.

AOL's interface consists of four check boxes and a Scan button. The boxes are associated with questions, … Read more

The bottom line: Firefox 6 is a worthy expression of Mozilla's ideals. The browser is competitively fast, sports a new minimalist look, and includes some excellently executed features. Unfortunately, that describes most of Firefox's competition, too.

Review: The second version of Firefox to come under the new rapid-release aegis, Firefox 6 follows in the footsteps of Google Chrome, which adopted the rapid-release cycle a while ago and is now up to version 13 (at the time this review was written) despite having its first release only in 2008.

Firefox 4 had a massive impact on Firefox 5 and … Read more

In some ways, the Windows Registry is like a hotel registry: files and programs come and go like hotel guests, leaving their traces behind them. Like a good hotel staff, a suite of suitable utilities can keep your Registry clean and compact, which helps keep your PC running fast and smooth. Registry tools tend to fall into one of two categories, cleaners and defragmenters. Cleaners scour the Registry for leftovers, tossing them on command, while the defragmenters or optimizers delete empty space to make the Registry smaller and more efficient. While they're often bundled together, such tools are available … Read more

Diskeeper 2011 automatically takes care of hard-disk fragmentation as it occurs, making the manual defragmenters we're all accustomed to a thing of the past. For any Windows users experiencing a lag in hard-disk performance, this hassle-free tool is a fantastic option.

Shortly after installation, Diskeeper analyzes all the volumes on your computer. The data it collects is used as a baseline for the Performance Reports it generates from that point on. These reports let you know how many fragments the program has eliminated as well as how, exactly, it has improved your PC's performance. While most users won'… Read more

This is your problem: Your PC is starting to show its age and it no longer performs as fast as it once used to. Files and Programs take too long to load, and you're able to brew a fresh batch of coffee in the same time it takes for your computer to startup.

Here is your solution: SLOW-PCfighter and FULL-DISKfighter are complementary utilities that provide you with a number of tools for optimizing Windows and your hard disk in order to ensure your PC is performing at its fullest potential.

SLOW-PCfighter features include:

WinZip System Utilities Suite offers a one-stop shop for optimizing, defragging, and generally cleaning out your system--and it does a pretty great job, adding extras that will come in handy whenever you need to perform routine maintenance. The interface smartly mimics many of the utilities in this genre--with various tools on the left, and the main window showing the options for each tool--making it easy to clean each area of your system quickly.

Like many modern system utilities, WinZip offers the option to be as involved with the process as you want to be. From the Home screen, you can … Read more

ARO used to stand for Advanced Registry Optimizer, but Support.com changed it to Advanced Repair and Optimization to better reflect the program's enhanced capabilities. ARO's developers were appalled to learn that entirely too many PC users have little or no concept of system security. So ARO 2011 now deep-cleans junk files and scans your system for security risks. ARO 2011 is largely automatic, but hardly opaque in its operation. In fact, one of its best features is the way it explains things, such as describing each category in its registry scan instead of just listing them in … Read more