First launched back in 1999, Ad-aware was one of the earlier specialist antispyware tools, and the program quickly became a worldwide favourite. Eleven years on, and there's considerably more competition in the PC security market, but Ad-Aware has grown considerably too: if you've not used the program for a while (or perhaps ever), then it's definitely worth taking for a spin.

Ad-Aware Pro is no longer just about blocking spyware, for instance. It now includes the powerful Avira antivirus engine, and a complete rootkit detection and removal system, for maximum protection against the widest possible range of threats.

Being able to remove viruses is good, but of course it's much better to avoid infection in the first place, and Ad-Aware Pro now employs many additional technologies to help keep your PC malware-free.

The program will automatically block connections to blacklisted IP addresses, for instance (something you won't get with Ad-Aware Plus). The new Download Guard for Internet Explorer watches the files you're accessing, and alerts you to potential threats during the download process. Real-time monitoring blocks known malware before you can run it; Genotype examines threat signatures to more accurately detect new variants of the same core malware; and a heuristics module looks for programs that are behaving suspiciously, helping the program detect even brand new and unknown threats.

Of course no real-time protection comes with a 100% guarantee, so you're also able to run manual scans on everything from individual files and folders, to full drives, network drives (another Ad-Aware Pro-specific feature), your choice of PC areas (just executable files and the Registry, say), or your entire system. And a powerful scheduler will set up scans to run automatically at the day and time you specify.

There's plenty on offer, then, but a revamped interface ensures it's all very easily managed. If you prefer the hands-off approach then you can run the program in Simple Mode, where it uses recommended settings and you've really nothing to do. If you like to have fine control over what's happening, switch to Advanced Mode and you'll get full access to every option. And opting for the Pro version of Ad-Aware also gets you command-line support, providing the ability to manage the program through scripts without having to work through the interface.

First launched back in 1999, Ad-aware was one of the earlier specialist antispyware tools, and the program quickly became a worldwide favourite. Eleven years on, and there's considerably more competition in the PC security market, but Ad-Aware has grown considerably too: if you've not used the program for a while (or perhaps ever), then it's definitely worth taking for a spin.

Ad-Aware Pro is no longer just about blocking spyware, for instance. It now includes the powerful Avira antivirus engine, and a complete rootkit detection and removal system, for maximum protection against the widest possible range of threats.

Being able to remove viruses is good, but of course it's much better to avoid infection in the first place, and Ad-Aware Pro now employs many additional technologies to help keep your PC malware-free.

The program will automatically block connections to blacklisted IP addresses, for instance (something you won't get with Ad-Aware Plus). The new Download Guard for Internet Explorer watches the files you're accessing, and alerts you to potential threats during the download process. Real-time monitoring blocks known malware before you can run it; Genotype examines threat signatures to more accurately detect new variants of the same core malware; and a heuristics module looks for programs that are behaving suspiciously, helping the program detect even brand new and unknown threats.

Of course no real-time protection comes with a 100% guarantee, so you're also able to run manual scans on everything from individual files and folders, to full drives, network drives (another Ad-Aware Pro-specific feature), your choice of PC areas (just executable files and the Registry, say), or your entire system. And a powerful scheduler will set up scans to run automatically at the day and time you specify.

There's plenty on offer, then, but a revamped interface ensures it's all very easily managed. If you prefer the hands-off approach then you can run the program in Simple Mode, where it uses recommended settings and you've really nothing to do. If you like to have fine control over what's happening, switch to Advanced Mode and you'll get full access to every option. And opting for the Pro version of Ad-Aware also gets you command-line support, providing the ability to manage the program through scripts without having to work through the interface.

How do you know if the web site you’re about to visit, or the sites listed in a web search, are safe? One of the easiest ways to get infected or scammed is to simply browse the web without first ascertaining if the sites you visit are safe to do so.

While web browsers do have some protection built-in, they tend to only target fake web sites, which come and go in 24 hours. Other web sites deemed to have privacy and security issues are usually left well alone. As a result, you’re left surfing the web blind, with little or no idea if the web site in question can be trusted or not.

Some security tools offer web-filtering add-ons for major browsers, but Web of Trust aims to provide a safe browsing environment for those who don’t have access to such luxuries. It’s a free browser add-on which is also available for Firefox and Chrome.

Sites, search engine results and even links in web-based email accounts like Gmail and Windows Live Hotmail are rated green, amber or red based on their safety and security ratings, enabling you to avoid sites that harbour malware and other dangers (if you inadvertently visit a site rated dangerous a clearly visible warning will pop up). The ratings are provided by over three million WOT users, and you can add your own to the list. Unfortunately these ratings aren’t 100 per cent accurate, and a growing number of people are complaining that perfectly safe sites are being blocked due to subjective reviewing criteria.

You can also configure the add-on to automatically block sites that aren’t suitable for children, so it adds another layer of protection to your loved ones’ online experience without forcing you into a blanket ban.

iTunes is a free application for your Mac or PC. It organizes and plays your digital music and video on your computer. It keeps all your content in sync. And it’s a store on your computer, iPod touch, iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV that has everything you need to be entertained. Anywhere. Anytime.

iTunes lets you enjoy all your music, movies, video, and TV shows on your Mac or PC. When you want to watch or listen to something, you no longer have to look through your CDs or flip through channels — just go to your computer and open iTunes. With your entire media collection in your iTunes library, you can browse everything faster, organize it all more easily, and play anything whenever the mood strikes.

What makes the iTunes Store such a hit? Over 13 million high-quality, DRM-free songs priced at just 69¢, 99¢, or $1.29 each. Visit the iTunes Store on your computer, iPod touch, iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV. Browse around and have a listen. Preview a song before you buy it and get recommendations based on music you love.

Or discover new music by going social with iTunes Ping. Follow your favorite artists and friends, find out what they’re listening to, and join the conversation with the world’s most passionate music fans.

Music’s just the beginning. You can also rent or buy blockbuster movies and HD episodes of your favorite TV shows, shop for audiobooks, and download apps for your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. Subscribe to free podcasts about anything and everything.

The new Apple iTunes 10 brings Ping, which offers music-orientated social networking, TV show rentals for only $99, support for the new Apple TV and a slight revision to the user interface.

Recordable CDs and DVDs have made it possible for the home computer user to work with data in a range of new ways. As well as making it possible to create your own music and data discs, a disc burner is also a valuable tool when it comes to backing up data.

Disc burning has now become part and parcel of owning a computer; it is such a common activity that Windows has featured built in support for disc creation for quite some time. However, the support offered by Windows is a little limited, so most people tend to turn to third party programs instead. Such software tends to fall into one of two categories - either too expensive to justify buying, or two complicated to use.

BurnAware Free manages to perfect the balance between ease of use and range of features, and yet it is available completely free of charge. Rather than being fill with options and features which are rarely used, BurnAware focuses on the disc burning tasks which most users need most frequently. In just a few clicks of the mouse, it is possible to create a data, audio, MP3 or boot disc, create an ISO of an existing disc or burn a disc from an ISO file. The program supports not only recordable CDs and DVDs but also Blu-ray discs.

If you've ever wondered just how your network is being used, Wireshark may be the tool you have been looking for. Network analysers are nothing new, but they have a tendency to be impenetrable programs reliant on command line operations and provide information in a text based form which can be difficult to interpret. Wireshark boasts a graphical front end which makes it easy to analyse all traffic which travels over a network using a variety of protocols.

Data packets can be captured from both wired and wireless network and this information can be viewed live as it is captured or analysed at a later date. The wealth of information that the program can reveal about network usage is staggering, and support for plugins means that the tool can be extended to add new protocols and features further down the line. Wireshark is available for Windows, Linux and Mac, making it ideal for mixed platform networks .

As well as working with data that has been captured directly through Wireshark itself, it is also possible to analyse data that has been captured with the likes of Aircrack, tcpdump and CA NetMaster. Easy to configure colouring and filtering makes it simple to make sense of complex data, and while this is not a tool for the average home user, it remain powerful yet approachable.

Note the Windows download here is for the 32-bit version.