WINPATROL
A Shareware Review
We can easily classify this one as a shareware gem- a rare, ingenious and unique software app that does things that makes you wonder why nobody ever thought about it before. The icing on the cake is that it is available in both a free version, and one for only $12.95 with all the bells and whistles. WinPatrol is a utility that stands on guard as a little Scottie watchdog sitting in your system tray to give you superb information about what's running in your system, what's coming in to your computer what does or does not belong there, and gives you the opportunity to make whatever changes you wish for the better.
The unique thing about Win Patrol is that not only identifies items by name, but gives you a full report that tells you exactly what they are, where they came from, and what they do. Take the startup programs, for example. Well, if you press ctrl-alt-del it's easy enough to see exactly what's running in memory from startup by a list of items it displays. The major problem is that you need a crystal ball to try to figure out what the cryptic names of the items on the list mean. WinPatrol not only provides that info, but also allows you to immediately get rid of what you don't need. The result is a faster boot up and less junk running in memory to steal your system resources. This is also essential to detect nasty software such as trojans, worms, spyware, adware or any other program which may insert itself into your startup. Furthermore, WinPatrol constantly monitors your system to automatically identify any new items that install themselves into your startup list and permits you to allow them there or not. Similar identification features are provided for all programs that are running, for cookies, and more.
WinPatrol is available at winpatrol.com. Try the free version first to get a handle on it. You'll love it! www.winpatrol.com
Copyright 2003. This article is from the February 2003 issue of the Sarasota PC Monitor, the official monthly publication of the Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc., P.O. Box 15889, Sarasota, FL 34277-1889. Permission to reprint is granted only to other non-profit computer user groups, provided proper credit is given to the author and our publication. We would appreciate receiving a copy of the publication the reprint appears in, please send to above address, Attn: Editor. For further information about our group, email: admin@spcug.org/ Web: http://www.spcug.org/
The Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc. has 1,100+ members and was established in 1982. We are members of the Assoc. of PC User Groups (APCUG), the Florida Assoc. of PC Users Groups, Inc., and we are members of the America Online Ambassador Program.
See http://www.spcug.org for all reviews from the Sarasota PC Monitor, go to the Newsletter Section.