Personal Computer World

Iolo AntiVirus

There's not been a real headline-grabbing virus story for some time, but don't get complacent - malware authors haven't gone away, or stopped. They've got busier, in fact, creating even worse programs, and employing a host of new tricks in an effort to infect your PC. And that's why it's vital to ensure your PCs are monitored by a regularly updated antivirus tool, and iolo AntiVirus makes an excellent choice and will protect up to 3 PCs.

VinylStudio 2

It's a nostalgic reminder of your youth, and with far better sound quality than many like to admit, but let's be honest here. Your old vinyl record collection isn't exactly going to win any awards for convenience. That's why you need to convert it into a more iPod-friendly digital format, just as soon as you can, and VinylStudio is the perfect tool to help.

Paragon Drive Backup 8.5 SE

Most people don't make regular use of drive image backup tools, and it's not difficult to see why. Having to copy an entire partition makes them slow, and few PCs have a spare drive they can use to hold the data, anyway. It all seems just too much hassle. At least, until you take a look at Paragon Drive Backup, which takes drive imaging to a whole new level of convenience.

Serif Draw Plus 6

At first glance, Serif DrawPlus 6.0 looks much like any other drawing package. But take another look and you soon realise how wrong you were. This surprisingly powerful program feels more like a complete graphics suite, folded into one, easy-to-use interface, and there's very little it can't do.

Ashampoo Burning Studio 2008

Browse through the average disc authoring suite and you'll find plenty of excess baggage: video and audio file editors, a media player, backup program, label designer, and more. If you don't need these extras, you'll be wondering why megabytes of drive space has disappeared, when all you want to do is burn a few discs, then we have the ideal software in mind.

Ashampoo WinOptimizer 2008

PC maintenance can be a tricky business, as you install a host of specialist utilities, learn their individual quirks, and hope that somehow they'll all work together. But there's an easier way. Ashampoo WinOptimizer 2008 crams 14 different cleaning, tuning, tweaking and file management tools into one straightforward, attractive interface.

Cyberlink PowerDirector 5 VE

With even mobile phones now delivering 7 megapixel CCDs, it's never been easier to capture high resolution video. But of course if you're looking to produce a quality movie, then that's only part of the story. No matter how good your hardware, raw footage almost always looks a real mess, and that's where a versatile video editor like CyberLink PowerDirector 5VE comes in.

PC Tools File Recover 6.1

You might have chosen the wrong folder, clicked "Yes" instead of "No", enter a file name you've used before - but the details really don't matter. What's important is that you've just accidentally deleted a file you've been working on for weeks, and there will be serious consequences if you can't get it back, immediately.