What’s New at PC Pitstop, July 2005
IN THIS ISSUE
- The Microsoft Brand and Spyware
- More P2P and Spyware
- MAX PC: CPU Overclocking
- Performance Tip: Use It or Remove It
- Top Dawg Challenge Winners
The Microsoft Brand and Spyware
Microsoft doesn’t have a stellar reputation with a lot of PC users, since Windows is often the fall guy for whatever problems occur on their PC. Yet just when you thought Microsoft’s reputation couldn’t go any lower, a credible rumor circulates that they may purchase Claria. Yes, the same Claria that makes Gator, the same one that sued PC Pitstop in 2003. Plus, although Microsoft’s AntiSpyware still detects Claria products it now recommends that users ignore them–leaving them on the PC!
Read more…
More P2P and Spyware
In June, we exposed a company that was distributing spyware on BitTorrent. Although that company doesn’t appear to be operating anymore, another has taken its place less than a month later. Although the companies involved repeated many of the same vows they made last month, the fact that the problem keeps coming back shows that they are not stopping this abuse that is being committed for their company’s benefit.
Tech Notes: They’re doing it again!
P2P Downloads Fuel Spyware
MAX PC: CPU Overclocking
When it comes to performance, some users like to live on the edge. Sure, Intel or AMD says that their CPU runs at a particular speed, but who’s to say it can’t run faster? That’s where overclocking comes in. Our latest MAX PC article gives you the lowdown on this interesting way to squeeze more performance out of your system.
Read more…
Performance Tip: Use It or Remove It
Odds are, you have dozens of unused applications clogging your system. It’s easy to download and install some free utility, decide it’s no good, and forget to install it. Unused applications can be a problem even if you never use them again. In addition to the disk space they occupy, some applications may be hooking into important browser or system functionality and causing system instability. That’s why it’s a good idea to look at the Windows Add/Remove applet in Control Panel every month or so to remove anything that you no longer need. If something appears there and you don’t recognize it at all, do a spyware scan!
Top Dawg Challenge Winners
Where are our manners? We forgot to mention the winners of the last Top Dawg Challenge in our June newsletter. Congratulations to Gryph, Shogan and Lou in the AMD category, and to Flewpastu, CopyRon, and Soyo Man for their winning Intel rigs. First and second place winners were rewarded with fast Western Digital Raptor drives! Read more on the winners, the prizes, and the systems in our Max PC writeup.
Read more…
About PC Pitstop
PC Pitstop, LLC (https://www.pcpitstop.com) was formed in February 2000, and offers users a unique way to make sure their PCs are running fast, stable and secure–all through a free, Web-based interface.
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