Much to the AV community’s surprise (and in some cases, chagrin) Microsoft’s free-to-download Security Essentials turns out to be half decent, a step up from the ‘why would anybody bother’ mediocrity of Windows Live OneCare, which Microsoft could never make...

In the Internet age, operating systems are made little by little, update by update. So why the fuss about Windows 7 upgrade which comes on a DVD inside a cardboard box?Every other bit of software feels like a choice, but...

The WEP encryption standard fell first in the war against wireless insecurity, discredited by simple hacks. Now, with the arrival of high-speed wireless technology in the form of 802.11n, it is WPA's turn to feel the chill of obsolescence. The...

No application better typifies the ubiquity of ‘part-time software' than Acrobat Reader. Everyone uses it at some point, but very few use it every day. And that's where the danger starts.It's suffered a consistent flow of vulnerabilities in recent times,...

Here's what most people know about 802.11n high-speed Wi-Fi: it offers much higher throughput and signal stability over greater distances. Now the bit that hasn't yet sunk in for many: getting that throughput could mean changing the type of encryption...

Is Windows 7 a good upgrade for a recent Vista PC that is otherwise performing quite happily? The first timings are in for Windows 7's boot and shutdown performance and the figures aren't that flattering. My test was to compare...

Microsoft has just thrown the anti-virus industry a problem called Microsoft Security Essentials. The problem is the incredibly obvious one - it's free.What's amazing is not that Microsoft is handing out something for free, but that it has taken them...

USB 3.0 will turbocharge throughput speeds for external hard drives, but buyers beware. To get the best out of the new standard will probably take a SATA 3.0 hard drive.With the news from Freecom (coincidentally recently bought by giant Verbatim)...

The Zbot Trojan's ability to evade anti-virus engines is bothering security company Trusteer, although whether their depressing detection numbers tell us much about the effectiveness of AV is moot.The company collected data from 10,000 PCs using the ‘Rapport' browser agent...

Imagine a retail store that has falling sales, apparently isn't much loved by its customers and which analysts think will pretty soon be beaten out of existence by Internet-based rivals. Anyone want to stand up for PC World?Let's ignore the...