spyware

The bottom line: After the last version's radical new interface that brought this security stalwart into a visual comparison with its competitors, Avast looks to the future with version 6's edgy improvements.

Review:

Editors' note: Portions of this review are based on CNET's review for Avast Free Antivirus 6.

Avast made great strides in its previous update. Version 5 set the stage for the modern, massively popular, and free security suite with a new interface that ditched a quirky, late-'90s jukebox style for a more polished look. Easier to navigate, it also became easier to add … Read more

The bottom line: After the last version's radical new interface that brought this security stalwart into a visual comparison with its competitors, Avast looks to the future with version 6's edgy improvements.

Review: Avast made great strides in its previous update. Version 5 set the stage for the modern, massively popular, and free security suite with a new interface that ditched a quirky, late-'90s jukebox style for a more polished look. Easier to navigate, it also became easier to add new features.

Make no mistake; Avast 6 adds features both big and small. Some that had previously … Read more

Where are your kids tonight? Virtually speaking.

You know they're up in their rooms. But they have laptops. And they've been pouting more than usual lately. So who are they talking to? What are they saying?

The police chief of Mahwah, N.J., James Batelli, believes that you shouldn't be sitting there and wondering. He believes parents should be using any methods they can to spy on their kids.

According to NBC New York, Batelli, who is the father of a teenage daughter, says a parent's biggest mistake can be naivete.

"If you sugar-coat it, … Read more

Links from Friday's episode of Loaded:

Google purchases a company called eBook Technologies

However, Google's planned acquisition of ITA Software is under scrutiny from federal antitrust officials

AT&T will allow tethering on two upcoming 4G phones and may allow it on the iPhone as well

Fujitsu is set to launch the first glasses-free 3D desktop PC

News Corp.'s iPad magazine, The Daily, has been delayed

Google Translate for Android can help you have a bilingual conversation in real time

A new spyware program is parading as a Kama Sutra how-to guide

A man is suing … Read more

Howdy, peeps! I'm taking a much-needed vacation this week, but even a steady stream of mojitos served poolside by smiling island beauties can't keep me from sharing sweet deals. (Today and Thursday, anyway.)

This one comes from none other than CNET: Today only, you can get Lavasoft Ad-Aware Pro Internet Security (1-year license) absolutely free. That's a $29.95 value, and the only requirement is an e-mail address. (The offer says it's "for CNET members only," but all I did was supply my name and address.)

Update: As noted yesterday, the offer has now … Read more

The bottom line: PC Tools Spyware Doctor with Antivirus 2011 will give you strong security, but a not-insignificant performance hit. For a mid-range suite, though, its features are solid and it's a better bet than PC Tools' high-end Internet Security 2011.

Review: Editors' note: Portions of this review are based on CNET's review for PC Tools Internet Security 2011. The screenshots and slideshow also are taken from the similar PC Tools Internet Security 2011.

PC Tools Spyware Doctor with Antivirus 2011 competently juggles the competing requirements of an effective and usable security suite. Although we were disappointed by … Read more

The bottom line: One of the first applications built to find and remove malware and spyware, Ad-Aware's reputation is well-justified. The latest version continues the publisher's tradition of adroitly addressing user concerns, yet some annoyances remain.

Review:

Ad-Aware 9 continues the development progress that publisher Lavasoft began in the previous version. No longer content with offering only malware protection, Ad-Aware now includes antivirus protections licensed from Sunbelt, the makers of Vipre, as well as interesting in-house improvements.

Lavasoft first started changing Ad-Aware's protection engine more than a year ago in version 8.1, when it introduced Genotype. … Read more

In its third update of the year, Ad-Aware receives a hefty change to how it protects you. Lavasoft's Ad-Aware 9 Free, available today exclusively on CNET Download.com, debuts two new detection engines as the company fights to keep its well-known freeware competitive.

Lavasoft first started changing Ad-Aware's protection engine more than a year ago in version 8.1, when it introduced Genotype. This heuristics-based technology identified identical snippets of code across multiple threat mutations. In version 9, Genotype receives support from what Lavasoft calls "Dedicated Detection". This tech looks inside files, analyzes the code, and … Read more

A Texas court has ruled that a husband accused of monitoring his wife's computer through a keystroke logger did not violate federal wiretapping laws.

Larry Bagley was sued in June by his wife Rhea Bagley, who accused him of surreptitiously placing audio recording devices in their house as well as a software keystroke logger. The Bagleys are in the process of divorcing.

The complaint in this civil case says that during the divorce proceedings, the husband revealed the existence of the surveillance tech and acknowledged that the "software recorded screenshots of activity on this computer." The husband … Read more