Remove

Ads within instant-messenger or browser clients are rarely welcomed by the user. They can slow down your computer and have the potential to contain harmful content--from adult products you don't want young eyes to see to adware or malware. RemoveAds is a Windows program that can be installed to remove those pesky (and sometimes dangerous) advertisements from just about any IM client or browser.

Step 1: Download and install RemoveAdsRemoveAds. 

Step 2: Launch the program from the Start menu by searching for RemoveAds.

Step 3: Be on the lookout for any ads that made it through the … Read more

Coloring books are a great way to keep a child's attention and occupy their time.

They also provide a creative outlet for a child's inner Picasso that is several times more preferable than your walls or new furniture. However, you can even make these for yourself. After all, coloring can be a way to relieve stress and meditate, so why not have fun coloring some beautiful scenery or a favorite character from your childhood?

Follow these steps to learn how to turn any photo (be it of you, a place you visited on vacation, or even just something … Read more

Dilbert, the technoverse's personal hero, treats other users' USB drives like rats carrying fleas infected with bubonic plague. We sympathize: you don't know where that thing has been and what it might be carrying. The same is true if you carry a USB drive with important (maybe life-saving) data; you may be 100 percent sure your flash drive is virus-free, but can you say the same thing about the PCs you plug it into? No, and that's why you should have ClamWin Portable on your USB drive, CF card, or other high-capacity media. ClamWin Portable is the … Read more

Update, May 24, 2013: Since this post was published, I've found a much faster way to get rid of What's Hot posts from your Home stream. Once logged in to Google+, choose What's Hot from the left-hand slide-out menu. The top right-hand card on the page will say "What's hot and recommended." Click the Settings cog, and then uncheck "Show posts in Home stream."

That's all you need to do. But below is the original content of this story.

Users of Google+ probably noticed a new section on their news stream … Read more

As freeware system cleaners go, Magix PC Check & Tuning Free offers a good balance. Some such tools are designed to be as easy to use as possible and give you few options and not enough information about what they're doing to your system. Others overwhelm beginners with options and detailed scan reports, and they often make it too easy to delete the wrong things. The freeware version of PC Check is designed to be easy to use yet useful to people with widely varying skills, yet it also lets you perform cleaning and tune-up operations separately as well … Read more

There's some good news for those of you who are considering buying one of the new "subsidized" Kindles With Special Offers but are worried the ads might be too irritating: you can easily upgrade to the ad-free Kindle if you don't like it.

That's right, once you buy a Special Offers version, you can easily shut off the ads by simply paying a fee--the difference between what a Kindle Special Offers costs and what an ad-free version costs. In the case of the currently available non-touch Kindle 2011, which goes for $79 for the Special … Read more

The bottom line: An aggressive redesign aimed at making its best-known suite more accessible than before, Avira Free Antivirus 12 combines fast scans with above-average protection for a solid security combo.

Review: Free antivirus maker Avira debuts a laundry list of changes in its latest major update, basically repositioning the suite to remain competitive in the face of tougher competition from other free security suites and a renewed emphasis on performance from paid competitors. From the new breezy installation to the modernized interface and reputable security, the suite has a lot going for it.

However, it notably lacks some features … Read more

The bottom line: Following on last year's big overhaul, Trend Micro makes a series of smaller changes to this year's Titanium security suites. AntiVirus Plus contains the core features, but it's really on a level with free competitors--and that's a hard sell.

Review: Last year was a headliner for Trend Micro's security suites. Overhauled with a lightweight interface and cloud-based detection, and rebranded as Trend Micro Titanium, the changes made the suite competitive again. The 2012 version builds on those improvements, so this year doesn't have a lot of big changes. Still, there are … Read more

The bottom line: The new Kaspersky Anti-Virus for 2012 introduces a dual cloud-and-local security system bundled under an overhauled interface that's both easy to use and familiar. The suite's scans aren't the fastest, but it definitely will protect you.

Review: Kaspersky Anti-Virus continues to provide users with a high level of protection that includes security tools not offered by many competitors. The 2012 version won't change the face of personal computer security, although this particular package of security options has attracted enough devotees to make it a best-selling program, both in and out of the security … Read more