News Bits: SpyWare Removal, ATI & 3DMark05, Averatec Refresh, Joybook 7000 Review

Why you Should get Rid of Spyware From Your Computer and How to Do This

Webroot Spy Sweeper - a Spyware removal program

Many of you are well aware of the problems we must face with our computers being connected to the internet. No doubt the benefits of the internet outweigh problems -- even with viruses, email spam and spyware. So unless you're willing to unplug your notebook computer from the web and stop browsing websites I highly recommend installing a software program to remove any spyware that you might inadvertently download to your computer.

A quick explanation of Spyware to those unaware. Spyware is software that automatically downloads to your computer without you approving it, or at least unintentionally approving it, and then runs in the background and sends information to its parent server to tell a company or personwhat websites you are viewing and what you do on your computer. Spyware wastes your system resources, invades your privacy and often causes pop-up ads. A common spyware program thatmany have learned to hate is called Gator Gain. This program throws up pop-up ads based on websites you are visiting, if you visit Ford.com it might throw up an ad for Chevrolet.com for example. It's intention is to try and drive you to a competitor site that it makes money from.

With all this being said, I've been using a SpyWare removal program on my notebook that I'd like to recommend. SpySweeper from Webroot is a program that will scan and uninstall SpyWare from your computer and will also run in the background to prevent any SpyWare from even being downloaded to your machine. It's $27 well spent for peace of mind and for keeping your machine clean from spyware.

Link to SpySweeper: Webroot Spy Sweeper ($27)

PC Gaming Enthusiasts get top 3DMark05 scores with ATI's graphics cards

Computer enthusiasts put their graphics cards to the test last week when FutureMark launched its new 3DMark05 benchmark software and a clear leader quickly emerged. TheRADEON(R) X800 XT Platinum Edition graphics cardfrom ATI Technologies delivered the highest performance on the new DirectX(R) 9 benchmark of any currently shipping product.

Using a standard RADEON X800 XT Platinum Edition with FutureMark approved drivers, third party testers at sites like www.driverheaven.net have scored over 5800 points in the new 3DMark05 benchmark, revealing the RADEON X800 to be more than 20% faster than its nearest competitor. Hardcore overclockers are also using their RADEON X800 XT cards to achieve unbelievably high scores. Sami Makinen, a well known overclocker, achieved a high score of 8250.

"3DMark05 stresses our graphics cards beyond the means of today's games, so customers look to performance in this application as an indicator of how our cards will perform in next-generation games," said Rick Bergman, Senior Vice President, PC Business Unit, ATI Technologies Inc. "The results clearly indicate that the RADEON X800 is an excellent choice for gamers who want the ultimate gaming experience."

RADEON X800 products are currently shipping through OEMs, system integrators and retailers around the world. For more information on ATI's products please visit www.ati.com.

Averatec Updates 3200 Thin and Light and 6200 Mobile Theatre Notebooks

Averatechas announced that it refreshed its 3200 Series and 6200 Series notebooks to give users the option of larger hard disk drives, faster microprocessors or DVD burners. The 3200 Series provides a thin and light notebook that offers stylish design and formidable features at a very affordable price. Meanwhile, the 6200 Series provides a unique combination of a standalone DVD player and fully-loaded multimedia notebook offering users solid multimedia capabilities and the flexibility to watch DVD movies or listen to audio CDs and MP3 without launching the notebook's operating system.

In the 3200 Series, an affordable thin and light mobile notebook PC weighing only 4.2 pounts, three models (AV3250H1-01, AV3250HS-20, and AV3250HX-01) have been upgraded to the Mobile AMD AthlonT XP M 2200+ processor with PowerNow Technology. Upgraded to a 60 GB hard drive, the AV3250H1-01 features a DVD/CD-RW combo drive while the AV3250HS-20 features a DVD +/- burner. A slight step up, the AV3250HX-01 offers an 80 GB hard drive and DVD+/- burner in both a Microsoft WindowsR XP Home or Professional configuration.

Meanwhile, model AV6210X60-01 of the 6200 Series Mobile Theatre, a thin and light widescreen notebook with instant on DVD player,is enhanced with a DVD +/- RW burner, while the AV6210HX80-01 features an 80GB hard drive and a DVD +/- RW burner.

BenQ JoyBook 7000 NotebookReview

HardwareZone.com has a very extensive review of the BenQ Joybook 7000. This is a desktop replacement style notebook. BenQ computers are sold mostly in Europe and Asia,the company plans to expand into the U.S. market gradually.

"The usual perception and definition of desktop replacement notebooks as behemoths have just taken another smudge with the availability of BenQ's Joybook 7000. Bulky, heavy and colossal are usually words in direct affiliation with desktop replacement notebooks and we have seen our share of these performance machines over the past year or so. While current notebooks of this genre are still going to consume a considerable amount of your desktop space, newer notebooks are in fact shrinking in both weight and dimension. By now, it should be pretty clear as to why this downsizing is possible. We foresaw the eventual ousting of the mighty Pentium 4 processors by the leaner and less power-hungry Intel Pentium-M flavors last year and this pattern we're observing today is indeed going the way of our prediction."

More: http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=14&id=1237

BenQ Website: http://www.benq-eu.com/Products/joybook/index.cfm?product=462