Personal Computer World

Paragon Drive Backup 9 PSE

Install Paragon Drive Backup 9.0 PSE and you'll get a very capable image backup tool that can clone any hard drive or partition with the minimum of hassle, saving the resulting image to local drives, a network system, CDs or DVDs. Most drive imaging programs take a long time to carry out their work, but this one is different. Paragon Drive Backup 9.0 PSE can build differential backups, images that contain only new or modified files, and so after the first full backup subsequent runs can be considerably faster.

Ashampoo WinOptimizer 5.10

Ashampoo WinOptimizer 5 is a comprehensive toolkit that provides everything you need to clean, optimise, tune and manage your PC. If your system is weighed down with too much junk, for instance, then you can always use the Drive Cleaner to remove redundant files.

Alpha Five v9

Microsoft Access has been the big name in PC database application for many years, but it's not your only option. Alpha Five V9 is a particularly powerful development tool with a number of features that you might find interesting. The program includes a comprehensive library of reusable components that makes it quick and easy to develop both desktop and web applications.

Uniblue DiskRescue 2009

Defragmenting your hard drive occasionally is a simple but effective way to keep your system running at peak performance. You could leave Windows own defrag tool to handle the job, but it's slow, inefficient, and far from the best solution. The Windows Vista defrag utility won't even give you an estimate of how defragmented a drive might be (unless you use the command line version, anyway) - it's less convenient to use than the XP version. Fortunately Uniblue DiskRescue 2009 takes a very different approach.

RecentX 2.0

It's a fundamental law of computing that the file you need is always at least four folders away from your starting point, and so most people are well used to clicking around their hard drive, looking for the document they need. But there is a better way. And it's called RecentX.

Panda Internet Security 2009

It's no secret that the web is a dangerous place, and you probably already have one or more tools designed to help keep your PC safe from harm. Why should you try Panda Internet Security 2009, then? Several reasons come to mind. The antivirus engine doesn't just automatically detect and eliminate all known threats, for instance (the antirootkit tool is particularly impressive).