Stop, Burn, Destroy

I downloaded a few apps recently that I've been pleased with (for the most part), and I thought I'd list them here for you (not sure about Mac versions, though).

The first was Pop-Up Stopper, by PanicWare. It's free, and catches most of the pop-ups out there. It also stops things like my comments boxes from popping up, but that's easily solved by holding down the control key while I click.

Next app is BurnQuick, an audio and data CD burner. It's cheap (I downloaded the 15-day eval, but it's only $15 to buy, and I'm going to), a small download (640k) and incredibly elegant and simple to use. BurnQuick integrates with your Windows interface, allowing you to simply right-click on a file and "burn" or add the file to queue for burning later on. No bulky, compicated menus and preferences to have to deal with; if all you're looking for is a quick and easy way to burn CDs, BurnQuick is the way to go.

My internet connection, while only a 56k dial-up and admittedly not blazingly fast, had slowed to a crawl. I was getting weird pop-ups upon connection, for installation of software that I could deduce was a web-tracking application. I decided to try a spyware app. I found a great one - Spybot - Search & Destroy. It's free, which is a good thing. Spybot scans your registry and cookies for spyware left behind by advertisers. I couldn't believe how much Spybot uncovered on my computer - and I thought I was being safe! I ran the scan last night, made the recommended fixes and my Internet connection is noticaby faster. PepiMK makes Spybot, which includes periodic updates so you can keep up with the latest web-tracking trends.