VAST for Windows

It may expand your search capabilities, but this confusing freeware will take some time to get accustomed to. VAST isn't your typical toolbar search tool. Instead, it's accessed through IE's View menu and appears as a sidebar. The interface is jam-packed with options for searching the Web, but also has some features not related to search at all, including RSS feeds from various sources.

Beyond a few tabs, little attempt has been made to organize the multitude of buttons and pull-down menus. Everything seems thrown together on the interface. Unlike your standard Windows search tool, you can specify a much wider range of parameters, including language and where the search term occurs on the page. VAST lets you choose your search engine as well, and it has more than 30 categories from which to choose. You can create and save your custom search forms for each search engine. A Help file is included, but it's not geared for the novice. In fact, the program and the Help file are best used by intermediate to advanced users. Inexplicably, there are some RSS feed options as well, but even advanced users will need the brief Help file to understand how to use the program to add, organize and view their feeds.

Several of our testers encountered a glitch when trying to close the browser window. It caused an error message to repeatedly appear on screen as if someone was pushing the wrong button over and over again. Ultimately, the window had to be closed using Task Manager. It seems to us that the best thing that can be said of VAST is that it's free, but really, it doesn't seem to be much of a bargain.