Book a Trip Online

As those lazy days of summer slowly arrive, many people begin thinking about where they’d like to go for their next vacation. Some think big like trekking through the African desert on a 10-day safari. Others can skip the sun and sand, preferring a quiet getaway to a spa in Napa Valley.

Wherever your heart fancies a trip or weekend rendezvous to, there are many online travel agencies that make the planning stages of your vacation that much easier.

Sure, you can still visit your traditional travel agency in the neighborhood strip mall. However, Internet agencies offer many more perks in your search for the perfect vacation experience.

Consider these benefits of booking a trip online:

· You can search, compare and book travel destinations right at your desk.

· Many Internet travel agencies offer online specials you cannot find anywhere else.

· Most sites offer discounted travel packages including hotel, rental car and even flight.

· Most travel sites offer 360-degree virtual tours of rooms and resorts.

· You can choose to be billed online and actually print your reservation in seconds.

· Some sites like Orbitz offer low-price-guarantees. This means that if Expedia has a lower deal on the Marriot room in Manhattan you have your eye on, they will match the price or give you difference.

· The extensive database of flights and hotels make traditional trip-booking pale in comparison.

· Many online travel sites subscribe customers up for free special offer email lists.

· Depending on where you’re vacationing, most travel sites will help you customize your vacation. Going to Orlando? These sites will offer you tickets for Disney, Universal, water parks and other local attractions.

Nothing beats booking your much-needed vacation from the convenience of your own computer. However, sometimes it’s hard to know where to go or what hotel to stay at for the duration of your visit.

6Star Reviews is a site we found that compares online travel agencies to make your reservation-booking-process painless and even, cough, fun. By the way, if you need any help booking that Caribbean package, most travel sites have 24 hour customer support lines. We don’t think your corner travel agency offers this perk.

BigChurch: Great for Online Dating


BigChurch is a dating site specializing in bringing online single dating people together based on love and faith. The site is FREE and boasts over 1,700 online members while we were reviewing the site, 3,164 new photos and a member base of 483,000 members! This site also supports Portuguese, Spanish and Tagalog languages!

What is unique about the site is that you can search by biblical verses. You can read a passage based on version KJV, NIV and NASB. Additionally you can search for specific words in the bible. You can search BigChurch for dating online or the biblical searches immediately without any login data being taken. Once you perform a person search you are presented with people from their database. Photos are displayed with very simple comments such as woman seeking a man.

If you click profiles for online singles dating - you are then asked very simple questions to pinpoint your potential date or mate. You simply specify your birth date and gender. The type of relationship - bible study partner, marriage, prayer partners, pen pals and dating. You are also asked your denomination and level of seriousness about God.

What's New?

• 6 Months FREE-When you sign up for a 12 month Gold membership
• 1 Month FREE- When you sign up for a 3 month Gold membership

6StarReviews Favorite Feature:

MyMagazine-We like this feature as it adds a very cool aspect of the site. The BigChurch Magazine is created by its members. Members create the articles and content making it interactive with dynamic content. This feature lets you ad your own articles while also allowing you to respond to other member’s articles too!

Find Christian Love on Dating Disciples


Dating Disciples was started in May 2004 by Founder Michael Price, as a way for millions of people to receive the word of God and find potential mates through online dating.

There are several other Christian dating sites out there, but Dating Disciples stands out from the rest. The real goal of Dating Disciples is to point people toward Jesus. In doing so, it is their goal to help singles become the right person to start a relationship with.

6StarReviews’ Favorite Feature

See the person you are interested in. Dating Disciples allows users to upload audio and video pieces. Members can also use their own web camera with the instant message program so others can see them as they chat. This is the best Christian dating site feature 6StarReviews has seen.

Dating Disciples Features

• Forums
• ECards
• Flash Movies
• Email
• Chat rooms
• Audio Scriptures
• Bible Search
• Online Bible Studies
• Sermons for Singles

Meet Your Partner at Christian Café


Christian Café is like a virtual café where users can sit back and connect with others. Compared to other Christian dating sites, Christian Café is very laid back. Users can form a relationship or find a pen-pal. The café is merely a forum; you decide what you are looking for.

Christian Café features the best Christian dating database. They have the largest member pool of any Christian dating website. Users can find a mate anywhere around the world, not just in the United States.

6StarReviews’ Favorite Feature

Members earn 5 free days per referral.

Christian Café Features

• Email
• Chat Rooms
• Send Quick Messages to online members, like an instant message program
• Tips to write an appealing profile
• Read the relationship advice columns geared toward Christians
• See a running tally of new singles that have joined
• Members can prevent others from knowing you check out their profile
• Can see who has a birthday today
• Helpful tips in mail section and chat
• Large advance search – search by country, state, religion, salary, education, etc

Form Christian Relationships


Relationships is one of the best Christian dating sites out there. Their goal is to connect Christians so that they might form friendships or relationships. The site is for Presbyterians, Protestants, or other Christian faiths.

This online dating site features a 2-Way matching system. Each member fills out a questionnaire and identifies what they are looking for in the opposite sex. The criteria include religion, age, education and more. When looking at potential mates, users will find a percentage score of how well that person matches their criteria.

6StarReviews’ Favorite Feature

Members get a free magazine subscription with their membership on this dating site.

Relationships Features

• Email
• Instant Messenger
• Message Boards and Chat Rooms
• Photo Albums
• Members can anonymously send messages
• Free Ecards
• Text messages available when you receive email
• Change the look of the site by selecting a theme
• Verse of the day
• Bible Search
• Provide events for members to meet

A Place For Catholic Singles


Catholic Singles is a dating website aimed at people whose religion is one of the most important things they look for when developing friendships and relationships. They have been helping people meet since 1997.

Online Catholic dating can seem daunting. Read reviews from members who have found their soul mate using Catholic Singles. It is made easy at Catholic Singles. Their profile questions inquire as to how often you go to church, do you want to be married in the Catholic Church, etc. Anything that may cause conflicts is already spelled out, so there are no surprises on this dating site.

6StarReviews’ Favorite Feature:

Users can un-send an email if the recipient has not read it yet.

Catholic Singles’ Features

• Email
• Chat rooms
• Instant messenger
• Advanced member search
• Find the best catholic dating advice at Catholic Singles in their advice columns
• Prayer Intentions board
• Receive discounts on special events.
• Offer events across the US and in Mexico and Canada
• Access to Catholic news and newsletter
• Get relationship advice from Sr. Paula
• Dave Sloan's Twelve Principle Program shows how to have a relationship without fear
• Get answers to theological questions from Father Robert Ruhnke, C.Ss.R.

Find Love on Catholic Mingle


Catholic Mingle is an online dating site dedicated to matching users that want their religion to play a key role in the relationship. Thousands of profiles can be found at Catholic Mingle. With so many profiles to choose from, there is bound to be several prospects for anyone who signs up with this dating site.

Catholic Mingle is one of the best Catholic dating sites out there. They feature two-way matching technology to ensure more accurate matches. In order for members to match, both parties must fit within the age, location, and height requirements set by each other. For those looking for a more complete match, they can also specify body type, education, religious activity and more.

6StarReviews’ Favorite Feature

Singles can use the Click! Alert feature to discretely find out if someone they are interested in is also interested in them. Catholic Mingle will send a message to the person that catches a member’s eye. If they are interested, Catholic Mingle will let both parties know.

Catholic Mingle Features

• Photo album
• Send smiles (icebreakers) to anyone that catches your eye
• Free Ecards
• Email
• Message boards
• Chat Rooms
• Bible search
• Safety tips
• Events are organized so members can meet each other

Catholic Match: Dating for Catholics

CatholicMatch an online singles dating community of Catholic singles with common faith and values. This is a great place to go for the best Catholic dating on the Web. 6StarReviews recognizes CatholicMatch’s excellent navigation, community support and online functionality providing long-term online community devoted to finding friendship, courtship and marriage!

CatholicMatch has a new selection of general links to try when you sign in as a free member. Links are chats emotigrams, encounters, favorites, friends, mail, matches and profile search.

CatholicMatch has a variety of online singles dating community support features on their site such as: forums that are related to church teachings, vocational and other miscellaneous topics. This provides a large option for partaking in community conversation threads. Also provided is the My Events option that allows you to track special community events for Catholics. Here you can post an event, participate in events and show interest in dating online.

Event categories are:

• Charity & Volunteer (135)
• Conferences & Talks (132)
• Education (102)
• Government & Politics (23)
• Music & Concerts (96)

Catholicity as defined on their site – “First and foremost we are a 100% Catholic site. Many dating sites these days have "sections" for Catholics but are not really Catholic and may not even promote Catholic values.

6StarReviews Favorite Feature:

CatholicMatch Temperaments: This test helps you to determine what temperament you were born with. You know – the one God gave you. The second step is to Compare Yourself so you can understand friends, your family and even your co-workers. Step three is to get Community help. You can discuss issues related to various temperaments. You can also receive advice from Catholic experts on how to improve your life

The Truth About Viruses

We’ve all heard about computer-virus nightmare stories from friends and colleagues. What begins as an innocent-looking email can end up ravaging your PC, wiping out files and destroying your software programs. However, many websites and unassuming files can inflict damage as well, without us ever knowing until the damage is already done.

Even the best antivirus software cannot fully shield a user from the bugs and trojans running rampant on the Web. However, many software packages are designed to ward off new viruses as they are emerging. There are many aspects of viruses people don’t know about and before choosing an anti-virus software program, it’s necessary to separate fact from fiction.

Do these virus FAQs surprise or scare you?
· A virus can be spread when its host file is replicated. For instance, if you copy a file from a friend’s jump drive that contains a virus, your computer can get it.

· A virus does not need permission from a PC’s user in order to download and spread.

· Resident viruses do not need a host to spread. These viruses load themselves into memory of a PC’s files and transfer control to the host.

· Nonresident viruses look for hosts to infect and replicate themselves.

· Viruses can hide their file extensions from anti-virus programs, making it necessary to stay on top of your security updates in order to outwit the virus.

· Virus signature definitions only protect users from viruses pre-dating their last virus signature update: another reason to run automatic updates whenever possible.

· Heuristic software protection involves protection based on virus’ common behaviors, before there is an outbreak.

A virus’s capability to wreak havoc is truly extensive, but can be preventable. Every person will most likely come face-to-face with a virus at least once during their computer-usage. This makes it necessary to compare antivirus security and find one to begin protecting you.

6StarReviews is a great place to look for programs like The Shield Pro, which is designed to scan for viruses at high speeds and offers immediate security-breach alerts. Before you fall prey to the next Trojan, consider the benefits of purchasing yourself some security software.

Benefits of a Registry Cleaner

If you’re wondering why your computer has been slowing down lately and you keep getting those aggravating error messages, it may be time to clean your Windows registry. Think of it this way: just like you need to clean out your desk drawer or filing cabinets once in awhile, your PC needs the same maintenance for it to run properly.

Even the best registry clean cannot fix all of your computer’s headaches, but it is a step in the right direction.

There are several reasons to clean your registry:
· Registry cleaners delete unused entries that may have been
processed into your computer by spyware.
· Unwanted software that didn’t fully get removed (even though its presence is gone from your desktop and add/remove programs list) will be deleted.
· De-fragments unwanted or unused files to make your operating system run quickly
· If you are a frequent install/uninstaller just for the heck of trying a program and getting sick of it, compare registry cleaners to find one that works best with your PC.
· If you are sick of blue error screens, various error pop-ups and a snail’s-pace startup, a registry cleaner can help fix all of these problems.

One important thing to remember is on a computer, all history and actions are recorded. Whether you delete a program or file, its past is still logged into the hard drive along with previous file extensions, downloaded information and data. There is no way to eliminate unneeded space-fillers other than to implement a registry cleaner.

Registry cleaners are a great purchase to make if you are interested in keeping up on the “paperwork” of your PC. 6StarReviews.com decided to compare registry cleaners to find the best products designed to fix those nasty errors on your computer. Many computer-users will also find they are cheaper than hiring a computer technician who may charge you $200 an hour. Just think, with a registry cleaner, it will be like having a brand-new computer afterward!

Phishing: Compromised Security


Compromised Internet security and stolen identity have been drilled into our heads from many different standpoints. The media incessantly reports the threats lurking on the Net and how to guard oneself against unforeseen dangers. Your next-door-neighbor may have a story about someone sending her a phishing email who changed her America Online password, keeping her from being able to log on the Web.

What exactly is phishing? This is a malicious practice that requires caution and internet security tools in the fight against it. Phishing is the attempt to steal one’s identity. Many of us have received so-called “warning” emails that look and read as if they came from Bank of America. The colors are exactly the same and the logo is completely identical.

However, what an unaware victim may not realize is most banks do not ask for their customer’s passwords, Social Security number or pin through email. These phishing scams often do through links in the email that take the victim to a pseudo-site that portrays itself as the authentic bank site. Little do they know, it was designed by a hacker to steal their personal information.

Here are some helpful how-to’s on guarding against phishing scams:

· Obtain an Internet security suite that has anti-phishing software included. Sites like 6StarReviews.com can assist you in finding a great security software, including tools to fight phishing and spyware.
· If you receive an email you feel is suspicious, immediately call or email your online bank or EBay, for example, to verify if it is real.
· Do not ever give out your pin, credit card number or Social Security number to a site claiming to be your bank: they will not ask for this information!
· Most banks will ask for your security questions you formed when you first made your account in case a situation like this arises. This is all they should ask you.
· Many banks and sites offer “report scams or phishing” links on their websites, this is a great way to fight back against that scammer who wanted to ruin your life.

While even the best internet security cannot fully shield you from a determined hacker or phisher, installing internet security software is a wonderful way to begin protecting yourself. Many services combine anti-virus and anti-spyware software programs, as well as provide firewalls, anti-phishing software and security alerts. Remember, it is up to you to fight back. Just like you wouldn’t leave your front door and windows unlocked, your PC should be treated in the same manner.

Game Rentals: Not Just for Kids

Everyone loves to play a good game. While the more traditional folks still lean toward games such as Monopoly and Scrabble, the younger, Web-savvy crowd is taking advantage of the benefits the Internet has to offer. Instead of swapping video games with a friend and hoping to find something they like, many gamers are trying out numerous game titles through online game rentals.

These services work like DVD online rentals in that most offer free shipping & postage, free trials and offer monthly subscription rates and plans. A great way to try out a game you may not otherwise consider buying is to rent a game from an online database of videogames. This saves you time and money, while allowing you to enjoy a huge array of games.

Forget playing Madden NFL 07 over and over again until you strain your hands. Why not try your hand out in golf? While video games have become the rage today in the US and abroad, most people have no idea just how popular they have really become.

Were you aware of these interesting statistics from the Entertainment Software Association?

• 69% of American heads of households play computer and video games.
• The average gamer is 33 years old.
• 93% of people who make the actual purchase of computer games and 83% of people who make the actual purchase of video games are 18 years of age or older.
• The average age of the game buyer is 40 years old.
• 38% of gamers are women.
• The average adult woman plays games 7.4 hours per week. The average adult man plays 7.6 hours per week.
• 93% of game players also report reading books or daily newspapers on a regular basis, while sixty-two percent consistently attend cultural events, such as concerts, museums, or the theater.

These trends indicate how video games are no longer just for kids. Super Mario has been overshadowed by Gears of War, a favorite of the older gamer. When deciding on which game to buy, a great alternative is to utilize a site like 6Star Reviews and compare online game rental services and give several a test-run. You may just discover your hidden talent is really boxing, not NASCAR racing.

Children's Web Safety

The Web is a resource for endless information, but it is also home to lurking predators who may wish to prey on innocent children. Parents used to let their kids play outside after school without fear of kidnapping or sexual offenders. However, the on wrought of the Internet and MySpace have parents fearing the worst; where predators can mask as 17-year-old boys who just want to “talk.”

Luckily, there is parental control software available to ease parents’ fears of their children’s Internet encounters. Many software programs offer screen captures, chat and IM logs, foul-language filters and blocks on inappropriate Websites. 6Star Reviews feels that it is in every family’s best interest to compare parental internet control software to reduce the risk of Internet predation. Every parent’s worst nightmare is to let their child become part of the frightening statistics surfacing today.

ProtectKids.org has reported:

• 75% of children are willing to share personal information online about themselves and their family in exchange for goods and services. -eMarketer
• About 25% of the youth who encountered a sexual approach or solicitation told a parent. -Youth Internet Safety Survey
• 77% of the targets for online predators were age 14 or older. Another 22% were users ages 10 to 13. -Crimes Against Children Research Center
• Only 17 percent of youth and 11 percent of parents could name a specific authority, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). -Youth Internet Safety Survey
  

It is apparent that these statistics indicate the necessity of guarding one’s child from the dangers on the Net. While parents can educate their youngsters about some of them, even the most cautious can be fooled by an experienced predator’s tactics. When allowing children to surf the Web, it is best to purchase parental control software, allowing kids to maintain a sense of independence while being monitored at the same time. Keep your children safe and keep in mind the pro’s and con’s of the global Web.

DadaMobile Ringtones Very Popular


Dada Mobile is a monthly subscription service providing Cell Phone Ring Tones. They offer cell phone ringtones in formats like monophonic, polyphonic, and real ringtones, along with select wallpapers and screensavers. They also offer SMS (text) messaging services. When you sign up for $9.95 you get 10 bonus tones and 300 SMS messages!

Supported Carriers:

• Cingular
• AT&T
• T-Mobile
• Nextel
• Verizon
• Sprint
• Dobson
• Alltel
• Boost
• CellularOne

DadaMobile's selection of downloadable ringtones is somewhat limited as compared to their competitors. There are around 600 monophonic and 600 polyphonic mobile ring tones available, with few current songs.

Tones are organized by the following categories:

• 80s
• Classic
• Country
• Dance
• Evergreen
• Halloween
• Hip Hop
• Latin-American
• Pop
• R&B
• Rap
• Rock
• TV & Cinema.

Realtones are available in the following categories:

• 80s
• Classic
• Evergreen
• Hip Hop
• Ja Rule
• Pop
• Rap
• Rock

Slightly over 100 realtones are available in the Pop category; the other categories are more sparsely populated. All cell phone ring tones have a free preview available, but in our experience the file quality is poor and the vocals on realtones sound tinny.

Buy a Ringtone on Blinko


Dirty Hippo, also known as Blinko, is an Internet-based cell phone ringtones provider. They offer downloadable ringtones in formats such as polyphonic ringtones, realtones, and sound effects to mobile users. Mobile phone newsletters, games, wallpapers, and animations are also available.

Blinko can be challenging to navigate. There are at least four sub-menus to go through to find the mobile ring tones you want, and you can't browse a full list of what's available; instead, you have to go through page by page, sorted by the first letter of the tone.

All ringtones have a free preview which is of good quality, but there is no way to stop the music from playing without reloading the page—a bit of a hassle if surfing in a quiet area or at work.

Blinko Supported Carriers:

• Cingular
• AT&T
• T-Mobile
• Nextel
• Verizon
• Dobson
• Alltel
• USCellular
• Cincinnati Bell

What’s New with Blinko? Score Shop: This service allows you to get sports scores on your cell phone. This service is listed as coming soon! Check out more on this downloadable ringtones review, as well as other providers.

Cool Beats on Jamster

Jamster is an Internet-based service offering cell phone ring tones formatted as real tones, poly tones, and fun sounds that you can have delivered right to your Internet-enabled cell phone. In addition to mobile ring tones, Jamster offers text alerts, wallpapers, software, photos, videos, and more.

Supported Carriers:

• Cingular
• Sprint
• Cincinnati Bell
• T-Mobile
• Nextel
• Verizon
• Dobson
• Cellular One

Jamster's website is easy to navigate and has a wide selection of cell phone ring tones. Once you've decided between poly tones or real tones, you can select from nearly any music genre, including:

• Jamster!
• Stars
• Crazy Frog
• Celeb Voice Ringers
• Classical
• Comedy
• Country & Folk
• HipHop
• Inspirational
• Jazz
• Latin
• Pop & Dance
• Reggae
• Soul & R&B
• Rock
• TV, Film & Musicals.

By choosing your specific cell phone, you can limit your browsing to only compatible mobile ring tones and avoid disappointment.

Jamster has 17 memberships to choose from on this site! This can be confusing – but their plans range from The Big Plan to The Win Plan. Each plan costs $5.99 per month. Each plan offers a unique combination of photos, sports news, gossip news, music news, screensavers, mega pics, megasounds, polytones, realtones, videotones, powergames, premium games, prosoftware, and/or wallpapers.

For example, The Happy Plan offers credits for 6 wallpapers, 6 megasounds, and gossip news every month. (Certain cell phone service providers are not compatible with certain plan features, which Jamster is upfront about.) However this selection of plans allows you to find a custom plan that best suites your needs!

Cool Tunes with FlyCell

FlyCell is a cell phone ring tones download service that has eye-popping images, picks of the week, wallpapers and so much more. FlyCell offers top of the line MP3-quality downloadable ringtones. Formats and files include Real Tones, polyphonic and Voice Tones, wallpaper, text services (SMS), games, and screensavers for your cell phone.

Supported Carriers:

• Cingular
• AT&T
• Sprint
• Boost
• T-Mobile
• Nextel
• Verizon
• Dobson
• Alltel
• CellularOne

Check for supported carrier associated with each service.

6StarReviews feels that FlyCell offers some of the hottest cell phone ring tones. Categories include Hip Hop, R&B, or Pop. They also offer celebrity and pinup wallpapers, poker or arcade games and just about anything you may be looking to download.

FlyCell offers text services (SMS) along with their great downloadable mobile ring tones. From trivia to dating tips to daily horoscopes, FlyCell offers a wealth of choices.

Polyphonic ringtones are offered as downloadable ringtones in the following categories: Top Downloads, Chart Toppers, 80s Pop, 90s Pop, Classic Rock, Classical, Country, Dance/Techno, Heavy Metal, Pop, R&B, Rap/Hip Hop, Rock, TV/Movie Themes, and Instrumental.

They have a selection of a few hundred polyphonic downloadable ring tones, though their Chart Toppers category lists songs a few months old.

Their selection of voice ringtones includes: Jay Rule, Naked Cowboy, Nueva Estrella, Fun Messages, Girl Names, Guy Names, Female Voice, and Male Voice. Their collection of girl and guy names is limited, but you may find yours.

FlyCell Content Samples include:

Mobile ring tones – London Bridge, Do it To it, Crazy, Candy Shop and more

Top Exclusives – Baby Let Me Talk to Ya, Gangster Music, YRU Calling and more.

Trivia Alerts – TV, Celebrities

Create Your Own Tones with RingFactory


RingFactory is a unique software that allows you to create your own cell phone ring tones using MP3 or CD tracks you already have stored on your computer. It allows you to bypass the hassle of locating hard-to-find downloadable ringtones, low-quality ringtones, and/or frustration over your favorite part of a track not making it into the mobile ring tone version. You can also create custom wallpapers from your own photo collection.

6StarReviews loves the option of trying out their demo software forcreating mobile ring tones! In fact, cell phone ring tones are really easy to make with their software. RingFactory has a demo version available for free download. It is good for creating one of your favorite cell phone ring tones or one wallpaper.

Once installed - open a song to create your mobile ring tones. Then select the snippets of your favorite song(s) that you wish to convert to a cell phone ring tone. You will need to follow the directions specific to your mobile phone. The software is compatible with both Windows and Macintosh computers.

Supported Carriers:

• Rogers
• Sprint
• Cingular
• Verizon
• AT&T
• T Mobile.
  

What’s New with Ring Factory?
Ring Factory Mixer You can download over 3,000 songs for mixing your favorite cell phone ring tones! Powered by PCDJ, the Mixer contains over 3,000 sound samples from Rock, Hip Hop, Pop and more. You can load samples from your own music library (.wav format only) then add samples as you like.

The Ring Factory Mixer also includes several song demos which can be used for mobile ring tones or just to see how different samples sound together. COST - Ring Factory Unlimited Ring Tones for 1 day! - $3.00 or Ring Factory Unlimited subscription - $19.99

RingToneJukebox Keeps Things Fun


Ringtone Jukebox is an online retailer selling cell phone ring tones, wallpapers, and games for mobile phones. They support a long list of mobile service carriers and phones, and offer monophonic, polyphonic, and real ringtones.

Their carrier selection is the greatest of all ringtones providers reviewed by 6StarReviews. The day of our review they are giving away 10 complimentary real tones!

What’s awesome about this site? Brew – Ringtone Jukebox gives you the ability to buy cell phone ring tones and wallpapers directly through your phone through these service providers:

Supported Carriers

ACS Alaska Communications
Alaska Digitel
Alltel
Appalachian Wireless
BellSouth Ecuador
Bermuda
Bluegrass Cellular
Carolina West 1
Cellcom, Cellular 29/Lyrix
Cellular South
Centennial Puerto Rico
Cricket
Eloqui Wireless
Golden State
Guamcell
Hargray Wireless
Hutch, Illinois Valley Cellular
Inland Cellular
IUSACELL
Jamaica –MiPhone
Metro PCS
Midwest Wireless
Movilnet, Movistar Argentina
Movistar Colombia S.A.
Movistar Ecuador
Movistar Guatemala
Movistar Nicaragua
Movistar Panama
Movistar Peru
Movistar Peru_CM
Movistar Peru_TEM
Movistar Uruguay
Movistar Venezuela
Nex-Tech Wireless
Northwest Missouri
NTELOS
Pioneer/Enid
RCC Rural Cellular Coproration
Revol
Saipan - Verizon Pacifica
SureWest
Telcel BellSouth
Thumbcellular
U.S Cellular
UNEFON
Verizon DR
Verizon Wireless - Puerto Rico
Western Wireless

Out of all of 6StarReviews' cell phone ring tone reviews, this list beats the best of them! Ringtone Jukebox has some great features you can check out in its complete ringtones review.

Ringtones Rise in Sales

It was only a few years ago when everyone had the same ringtone and only five choices to select from. When a cell phone would ring, everyone would scramble for their purses or reach in their pockets. This isn’t the case today where practically everyone has their own tone, unique to their personality and musical tastes.

However, like any new technology, downloadable ringtones can be confusing. What exactly are monophonic, polyphonic and real ringtones? Here is your guide to these different kinds of ringtones:

Monophonic -“Mono” means “one” and this explains the ringtone as being able to play only one, simple sound. Think back to when cell phones first emerged and you heard the same jingle over and over again: that’s monophonic.

Polyphonic -“Poly” meaning “many” or “more than one” explains the ringtone that followed monophonic, but didn’t quite make the grade as a real/full ringtone. It is capable of playing 40 notes at once and sounds much better than monophonic tones. However, it cannot play lyrics.

Real/Full -This is the latest ringtone capability, being able to play MP3, WAV, QCP and AMR file formats. These snazzy ringtones can play lyrics and music simultaneously. Most phones out now are real ringtone compatible.

CNNMoney reported in 2006 that with the increase in ringtone sales, more and more record labels were noticing their sales were rising as well. CNNMoney says, “The record companies are happy for new sources of revenue. EMI Group, one of the world's largest music companies, said that mobile music sales increased nearly 140 percent during the first six months of its most recent fiscal year.”

It isn’t surprising to be walking down the street and hear U2 mixed with a little 50 Cent in the background. Mobile ring tones are promoting all kinds of artists and therefore, record labels. It’s a win-win situation in a way.

Consumers get to hear their favorite songs whenever they receive a call and the artist is advertised on-the-spot. The next time your phone rings and you can sing along instead of humming, remember it was only several years ago when this wouldn’t have been possible!

Popular Antivirus: CA Antivirus


6StarReviews tends to start our antivirus reviews early in the morning, so this AM we clicked the download link and started the install process of CA Antivirus. A moment later we dug through our emails and found the keycode that was sent to us and entered that in, then clicked "okay".

At that point 6StarReviews decided they were going to need a little more coffee to focus on the task at hand: to compare the installation process of CA Antivirus to other antivirus security softwares. We came back a few minutes later prepared to complete the installation and checkout the product. However, we notice we are already through a complete system scan! Did we miss something? Nothing has been done at this point other than entering the keycodes and we are halfway through a scan (and a cup of coffee)!


What's new?

• New Low Price for 6Star Customers! CA Antivirus is now available at $39.99 instead of $49.99! Get 10% off any purchase at the CA store using code DecAFFOFF10. This coupon runs through March 31st, 2007!
• CA Antivirus has such a nice, clean interface with what seems to be a very high "install and forget rating". There is no overload of information and choices on the interface which is good. Clean and simple. The way software should be!
• CA Antivirus's main component runs at less than 13mb RAM which is pretty light and our overall system scan was pretty fast.
  

Kapersky 6.0 Kills Viruses


Back in the days before the World Wide Web, a virus was a bug that people came down with and, eventually, got over. Nowadays, a virus is a dreaded nightmare that no computer user wants to encounter. As the years go by, viruses get bigger, badder and meaner. To respond to the threats, antivirus companies strive to create the best antivirus protection possible.

6StarReviews decided to compare antivirus security software to see which brands provide the best antivirus protection. Kaspersky Anti-Virus was one of the products we tested. Our findings are outlined in the antivirus review below.

What's New?

• New SafeStream technology.
• Blocks dangerous Microsoft-related macros.
• Does not scan during periods of increased activity.

User Interface and Product Application:
The Installation process for Kaspersky was simple and straightforward, taking approximately 15 minutes total before we were up and running.

Once the program was installed, it did an amazing job of detecting trojans and other virus infestations. Even though we had just tested numerous Internet security programs on our system, Kaspersky was able to find a trojan that had gone undetected during scans with the other software products.

Although Kapersky did impress us significantly with its antivirus protection abilities, we did feel the user interface could be improved. While it isn't necessarily "difficult' to navigate, it can not be considered user friendly and the layout and labeling could be improved.

6StarReviews Favorite Feature:
Perhaps one of the best features of this antivirus security is that it only scans files that have been modified since the last scan. This can save a significant amount of time during the scanning process, especially for those who store large quantities of files.

You've All Heard of McAfee


McAfee is also a leading antivirus security company providing good antivirus software when it comes to brand name recognition. McAfee is a little pricier than Norton at $49.99, but this suite also includes your virus scan, firewall protection, spam filtering, and privacy monitoring. If you are looking just for antivirus software you can purchase McAfee at $39.99.

McAfee VirusScan offers an extensive list of features. Many of the features come defaulted to already suit the consumers’ needs. McAfee defaulted our antivirus updates and preset our virus scans. All we really had to do was install and forget it!

McAfee offers their security center interface to monitor all of your security needs from one generalized place. This definitely makes this product more functional and provides excellent ease of use!

Customer Support:McAfee offers an extensive online support database that is very intuitive. Type in a few keywords and bam…the database goes in search of answers. While this technology is amazing, it isn’t enough for beginner users.

6StarReviews always likes to recognize companies that have phone support. While we know there is an 800 # out there, we had no luck in finding it after spending a good amount of time going through the site. We have, however, been informed that you do pay for technical support…provided that you find a way of contacting them!

Panda Antivirus Wards off Viruses


The word virus immediately sends a message of alarm, and why shouldn’t it?! A virus either brings sniffels and chills or has the potential to wreak havoc on your PC. Everyday we equip our bodies with what we need to stay healthy to fight those awful viruses. Shouldn’t we do the same for our computers?

Of course we should! Antivirus security software equips your pc with the proper protection before you connect to the internet, exposing yourself to unknown dangers. For this reason 6StarReviews felt it was essential to search for the best antivirus software.

Panda Antivirus 2007 was one of the security services that we tried out. Detailed below is our Panda antivirus review.

What’s New?

Currently the Panda website is featuring the Anti-Virus for $ 19.95 for 6 months of service.

User Interface and Product Application:

The installation process for Panda Antivirus was a smooth process with only a little confusion (there is a spyware scan mid install process) and a relatively fast process. 6StarReviews likes the ease and speed at which this occurred.

By looks alone this product may be the easiest to use with a simple set up process and easy to use interface, as there is almost nothing to it. 6StarReviews feels that consumers are bound to feel comfortable with this product. Panda is an easy- to- install product that came defaulted with preset functions. 6StarReviews loves that Panda updates “at least” once a day, but you can request more frequent updates. We suspect this is going to be a nice install-and-forget product as time goes by.


6StarReviews’ Favorite Feature: Protects Against Online Fraud

Panda’s Anti-Phishing technology blew us away. This feature seemlessly integrated right into the Outlook program! This technology allows you to stay safe from scams. Panda’s antivirus security tool allows you to bank and shop online, as they say, with peace of mind!

TrendMicro: Great Antivirus Security Tool



Trend Micro's PC-cillin Internet Security 2006 package offers consumers a comprehensive bundle of products but with that bundle, there comes some confusion. Internet Security combines antivirus, firewall and an adware and spyware scan. PC-cillin also blocks hackers, spam, and phishing attacks!

The Antivirus and Firewall:The antivirus security component is an easy to use product but after it, the rest of the products can be somewhat confusing for a computer user with less knowledge. Some of the preset options of the firewall miss the basic points of firewall protection.

At $49.95 PC-cillin's easy to use antivirus security software and features are well worth the money; however for the complete bundle if you are willing to work through the startup issues and get a grasp of the system, then we feel confident in saying you will be pleased with this product. If this was just an antivirus product alone it would receive a much higher rating, but due to the unnecessary time it took to deal with the rest of the suite, we feel there are better products out there.

6StarReviews Favorite Feature: Network and WiFi Control PC-cillin’s Home Network Control and WiFi Intrusion Detection enable you to centrally manage and protect your home computers and wireless network. WiFi Intrusion Detection helps to safeguard your wireless network by warning you when a wardriver or another unauthorized user intrudes your wireless network. Enables you to easily configure, update, and manage PC-cillin for every PC on your network—all through a single PC, making Parental Control (URL filtering) and home/office security management easier than ever.

The site and purchase process are standard and the installation process is not the simplest but again, no real issues. Trend Micro provides a toll free technical support number and you know how 6StarReviews feels about that!

BitDefender Defends Computers


BitDefender 10 is a great "install and forget about it for a year antivirus product". At $29.99 this is one of the best antivirus security software values on the market today. Virus updates can be done manually or are preset for your convenience. You get to preset updates and scans to your convenience.

Some Key Features Include:

• fast and effective scand
• easy drag & drop to scan specific files
• succinct reports after a scan

BitDefender 10 comes with a lot of bells and whistles, some of which can be annoying but can easily be turned off. Various notifications via popups and email tell you that BitDefender 10 has found a virus. 6StarReviews found it a little overkill but again, you can simply go into settings and turn those components off (last year 6StarReviews commented that you never knew the product was working, so this is a dramatic change in our opinion). The website isn't the greatest but is simple enough to get through the antivirus ordering process.

Highlights:

• low system usage
• fast scans
• simple interface
• easy installation
• good "install and forget"

BitDefender 10's affordable pricing and great features make it a top contender when you compare antivirus security.

Norton Fights Viruses

Norton Antivirus 2007 is by far the most well known antivirus security software, so if you are looking for a name brand you've found it. Norton Antivirus is a new product this year and includes virus and worm protection along with spyware protection. Norton appeared to catch everything incoming and the system remained clean during the testing period so we are confident that Norton was protecting against viruses very well.

Norton Antivirus 2007 will make it very clear that it has detected a virus and some of the preset settings are set to let you know the product is working very well. As with most products, once you are comfortable it is working, we chose to disable most of the warning (NOT the automatic updates or scans, just the warnings).

We were less confident about the adware and spyware protection and would have preferred for it to have been kept to a separate product. This has always been one of Norton’s issues; they seem to want to add every bell and whistle possible when the normal consumer can get intimidated by all of this.

Key Features:

• Now includes 12 months of protection updates and new product features as available throughout the year; annual subscriptions available for subsequent renewal.
• On-going protection keeps your computer protected from the latest Internet risks by automatically renewing your subscription at the regular subscription price, so you don't have to.
• Enjoy your computer with confidence, knowing viruses, Trojan horses, and worms will be detected and removed automatically.
• Surf the Web without being watched by dangerous spyware or unwanted adware, and without getting hijacked and redirected to spyware download sites.
• Breathe easy when new viruses surface, assured your protection is automatically updated.
• Open email and IM attachments without worry, knowing they’ve been scoured for threats.
• Create and share files at will, knowing even compressed files have been scanned for viruses.
  

Paycheck Advance Advice


Many people struggle to make it through each week, eagerly awaiting payday. Although it always feels nice to get that check in your hand or to see your bank account figures rise, too often the money is deducted to pay the bills before we ever get the chance to spend it how we want to. While saving money for rainy days is a smart thing to do, sometimes we just need that extra $100 to cover our expenses for the week.

This is where paycheck advance sites can assist someone who desperately needs the cash. In seeking out the best loan options on the Web, it is necessary to consider fees and payment plans before making your decision.

There are certain things to consider before choosing a payday loan:

• The Federal Trade Commission says, “Under the Truth in Lending Act, the cost of payday loans - like other types of credit - must be disclosed. Among other information, you must receive, in writing, the finance charge (a dollar amount) and the annual percentage rate or APR (the cost of credit on a yearly basis).”
• Use payday loans for emergencies; paycheck advances are for short-term monetary needs and can cost you more in the long run if you aren’t careful.
• Consider loan interest and if you are able, increase your payoff amount in order to decrease interest owed.
• The FTC recommends guarding your money wisely to decrease the chances that you will have an empty wallet at a time when you need cash.

They offer some useful advice:

• Compare APR and finance charges on credit cards. Choose a company that fits your financial needs.
• Make a budget and only spend what you need to according to your budget.
• See if your bank can offer overdraft protection on your accounts to keep you from overcharging. This also helps protect against fraud.
• Call your creditors and ask for slight extensions to pay your bills. Who knows? They may just grant you that extra two weeks you need.

While these are all great ways to steer clear of financial trouble, life does throw unexpected situations at us and check loans can be useful during those times. There are a variety of paycheck loans available through a number of services. Just remember-they’re better in short-term financial emergencies than becoming a habit!

Top Rated Greeting Cards


American Greetings is a great eCard website full of as many kinds of online greeting cards you can think of. The website is owned and operated by none other than AG International, the largest provider of eCards.

American Greetings has some of the best looking eCards available, plus the site is easy to navigate. They offer a huge variety of non–English eCards and feature collections like Disney and Nickelodeon for the kiddies.

6StarReviews loves the wide selection of holiday eCards, including abstract holidays like Sister’s Day. However, it took us awhile to compare all the great eCards, so be prepared for lots of choices.

American Greetings offers a few free eCards but the vast majority requires a paid membership to personalize and send. Members can send any eCard on the website, use an address book to keep track of contacts and set up event reminders so that Grandma’s birthday does not go forgotten this year.

As an added bonus, members may personalize an eCard and then set it to be sent on a specific date.

6StarReviews’ Favorite Feature: Members can personalize eCards by writing a script to be read with the card or upload an audio file that will play with the greeting card. This definitley makes American Greetings one of the best greeting cards money can buy!

Blue Mountain: Very Popular Greeting Cards


Blue Mountain is one of several eCard websites owned and operated by AG International, the largest eCard provider and it compares well with some of the best greeting cards sites owned by AG International. Like the others, it is easy to use and filled with thousands of different eCards. Plus, the company receives excellent greeting card reviews from most users.

Members also gain access to an address book, event reminder, and can dictate when the eCard should be sent. They can also include a voice message with select cards or add a picture to personalize any card.

Without a membership, you can still send greeting cards, but your selection is seriously limited. Think one or two per category. All eCards that can be sent for free are marked as such along the left side of the card’s image and are generally listed first in each category.

Blue Mountain has some of the best eCards. They have decent animation but many play annoying music. Thankfully they do offer the option of turning the sound off.

6StarReviews loved that senders can opt to be notified when the card is received or if it has not been viewed within 10 days.

6StarReviews’ Favorite Feature: Free screen savers and wallpaper for members

You Won't Forget Cards Remembered


Cards Remembered offers website visitors the opportunity to pick out cards and personalize them for anyone they know. No need to go to the store, simply log on and browse.

You may not find outstanding works of art on these online greeting cards, but the images are decent. Best of all, there are plenty of options to choose from. The selection compares well with greeting cards in any store.

Cards Remembered services are similar to the basics offered by other online greeting sites. The greeting cards can by personalized by adding a message using customized fonts and font size.

Cards Remembered offer the best online greeting cards value. The standard cost of $3.49 per card covers personalization and postage so you know what you will be paying up front.

6StarReviews’ Favorite Feature:Free postage included with all online greeting card purchase.

Show you care with Card Store


The Card Store is an online greeting card vendor that allows visitors to personalize and send greeting cards from the comfort of their own home. Alternatively, users may also order cards and have them sent to their own address to be personalized at home and mailed out at the user’s convenience.

The selection is good when compared to other greeting cards sites, but the graphics are lacking. On a positive note, they do feature some gorgeous photographs in the animal and nature cards sections.

Like the other sites, users can personalize online greeting cards with a message. Font, size, ink color, and alignment can be altered to meet your needs. We love that the customization is included in the cost of the card.

The best thing about these online greeting cards is users can order the shown cards as folded cards or as post cards. 6StarReviews has not found this option anywhere else. These online greeting card reviews are mixed.

Those that value stunning cards that feature trademarked figures will want to shop elsewhere. Those that want good cards at great prices will love the Card Store.

6StarReviews’ Favorite Feature: Customers can select when the cards will be printed over a year in advance.

How about a Hallmark?


Hallmark has established itself as a major player in the greeting card industry over the years. They currently own and operate a fabulous free eCard program from their website, offering great online greeting cards.

6StarReviews loves Hallmark’s eCards. They received high eCard reviews from us for their graphics. Their graphics are far superior to the other websites. As an added bonus, the eCards are entirely free. There is no yearly or monthly membership fee. You will need to sign in if you want the company to remember your information and gain access to a free address book. But otherwise you can remain anonymous if you choose.

Compared to other eCards sites, Hallmark does not have as many eCards, but they still have a wide selection. Users will find famous Hallmark series cards, such as those featuring crusty, old Maxine, the usual categories, and cards for random events and obscure holidays are available.

The website may offer a little challenge to those who are not internet savvy. The Hallmark website offers many products and different paths. Look for the eCard tab at the top right side of the screen to get you on your way.

6StarReviews’ Favorite Feature: Not only does Hallmark offer great eCards, they also offer beautiful flower arrangements and almost any gift that you could imagine!

Give a Greeting Card

Everyone loves to get mail in their mailbox or even in their virtual email box. There is nothing like opening up the door handle or clicking on your inbox and finding a note from a friend. Nowadays, everyone sends online greeting cards for holidays, celebrations or just to brighten someone else’s day. Greeting cards are even sent when traditional cards have already made their way to a recipient’s mailbox.

Ok, even if you don’t want to send a card in the mail and one online, it is still best to compare online greeting cards and choose one that fits your personality and the person you are sending it to. There are many online services that you may be aware of such as Hallmark or American Greetings.

According to iMediaConnection.com, in 2003, “From a paid content standpoint, Jupiter ecommerce analyst Patti Freeman-Evans estimates that $52 million in ecards were bought and sold in 2003. She projects that number will increase to $79 million in 2007.”

This is great news for online greeting card services! While no one can truly predict if customers are going to make the trek to Hallmark or log onto their PC’s to send cards, it is no hidden secret that everything done by the way of the Internet is the new trend.

Some of the best online greeting cards are offered by:

• American Greetings- This top-rated card service offers a huge variety of greeting cards, including cards for strange holidays you may have never heard of. They also offer Nickelodeon & Disney cards, perfect for those kids of yours that may know how to use the Internet better than you do!

• Blue Mountain- Blue Mountain is different in that they ask customers to personalize and create their own cards, adding a touch of themselves into their cards. There is no better way to send a card than creating it yourself!

• Cards Remembered- This card site offers great cards at lower prices than some of the other online greeting cards. There are also many options to choose from, as well as the ability to personalize your cards.
  

Whether it’s the Fourth of July, Memorial Day or dad’s birthday, why not send an online greeting card and make someone’s day?

eCards for Special Occasions


We’ve all been there: We’re going about our normal routine one day and the next thing we know, we remember it’s our sister’s birthday and we completely forgot to wish her a “Happy Birthday,” let alone send her a card. This scenario is all-too-common and one that can be avoided this day in age with new communications technology.

Instead of rushing to the post office and over-nighting sis a belated birthday card, why not turn on your computer and visit one of the many eCard sites on the Web? Some of the best online greeting cards can be sent for free as well if you happen to be on an extreme budget.

Some of the benefits of sending eCards include:

• They can be sent instantaneously: Your sister will most likely check her email and see you didn’t forget her special day.
• You can have copies of your cards sent to your email address: No need to worry if you already sent the same card one year later.
• Constant updates on card choices: There are literally thousands of cards for all occasions
  No need to go to the Hallmark store: This means no fighting your way through the flock of stressed-out husbands and boyfriends on Valentine’s Day.
• Save a stamp and an envelope

While eCards may throw off someone who isn’t used to using the Internet, if they are able to connect to an email-service-provider, eCard links are typically sent straight to their inbox. No confusions, just one click and they’re there.Whether you want to send your mom a card for Mother’s Day or your younger cousin a “congratulations” for her high-school graduation, it is best to compare online birthday cards from several different services. You may just receive a “Thank you” eCard in your inbox!

Preserve Your Photos

A picture says a thousand words and hopefully the words they say are good ones. However, many times we don’t stop to think about the condition of all our old photographs. Say you’re leafing through old photo albums and can’t find that one special picture you wanted to see. Perhaps you come across an old photograph of your grandparents, but it’s yellowing and nearly torn to pieces. All of these are circumstances that can be avoided through using an online digital photo service.

Pictures are memories frozen on paper, but like any piece of paper, they can be damaged. Why not start an online photo collection and preserve all those parties, family reunions and weddings in a safer manner? Online digital photos can be edited, maneuvered into specific collections and sent by email to friends and family.

There are many reasons to use digital photo printing:

• You don’t have to go to your corner drugstore, drop off your film and wait for your pictures to be printed.
• You get to use that digital camera you got for Christmas last year.
• Once you import your photos, you can choose which ones to print: No more spending $10 on a roll of film containing exactly three pictures you like.
• You can sign friends and family up to view your images.
• Your memories will be safely guarded in case your computer crashes or you lose your bulky photo album.
• Some online digital photo services even offer Myspace-type functions like adding friends and allowing them to comment on your pictures.

If you like the way online photos sound, there are many services to choose from. A great start would be to read photo printing reviews and find one that would be a great place to house all of your pictures. Whether you decide to go with Shutterfly or Snapfish, you will be able to share and reminisce on important people and events without the hassle of opening up a bulky photo album.

Popular Registry Cleaner: Registry Mechanic


There's nothing quite as frustrating as watching your computer's speed get slower and slower as each day passes. Not knowing what's causing it or what to do about it is even worse. Fortunately, there is a fast and easy way to improve your system performance and correct the errors that lead to issues with your computer's speed.

6StarReviews decided to compare registry cleaners and create comprehensive registry cleaner reviews. We took the best registry cleaner products and put them to the test. Registry Mechanic is one of the registry cleaners we tested. The findings of our experience are outlined in the review below.

What's New?

• Increased scanning speeds.
• Automatic live update tool.
• New and improved help and documentation section.
  

User Interface and Product Application:

The installation of Registry Mechanic was fast and simple. We didn't run into any complications at all. Once we had the program up and running, it was easy to operate and novice users should find Registry Mechanic to be very user-friendly. We were able to configure the application to run a full registry scan each time Windows was started on our system, making it very convenient to keep our computer in optimal operating condition. The only downside to the product was that it did not give us direct access to errors on our registry. Instead it provided the paths to the registry, requiring us to access the errors manually.

6StarReviews Favorite Feature:

We really liked the fact that Registry Mechanic didn't just delete broken paths or links. Instead, it would determine if a repair was possible, and if so would perform the repair rather than a deletion.

Registry Mechanic Features:

• Cleans, repairs and optimizes your Windows registry.
• Auto-scheduler allows for convenient maintenance.
• Provides registry backup and restore features.
• Registry Pruning - removes empty subkeys to improve compacting.

Clean Registry with Advanced System Optimizer


As technology advances, computer processing speeds and memory keep increasing with hopes of maintaining a decent level of system performance. The sad thing is that no matter how fast your computer is when you buy it, it's going to lose speed over time. That's why cleaning and optimizing your Windows registry is so important. But which registry cleaners are the best and which leave much to be desired?

6StarReviews decided to compare registry cleaners and create helpful in-depth registry cleaner reviews. Now finding the best registry cleaner doesn't have to feel like looking for a needle in a haystack. Advanced System Optimizer (ASOv2) is one of the registry cleaners we tested. The findings of our work are outlined in the review below.

What's New?

• Limited-time discount pricing.
• Integrated spyware protection.
• Improved help pages.

User Interface and Product Application:

The installation and set-up of Advanced System Optimizer took a little longer than some of the other products we tested, but this is probably due in part to the fact that the product has much broader functionality than many of its competitors. Once Advanced System Optimizer was installed on our system, we were thoroughly impressed by the broad range of features and the increase we experienced in our system's speed and performance. Not only did Advanced System Optimizer repair and optimize our Windows registry, but it also provided us with a number of other useful optimization tools such as an Auto-Start manager, file organization features, file repair functions and even a little sticky note program that let us make little notes and manage them from our icon tray.

6StarReviews Favorite Feature:

What we liked best about Advanced System Optimizer can't be narrowed down to one specific feature since our favorite aspect of this product is the broad range of features it offers, going above and beyond what any of its competitors provide.

Advanced System Optimizer Features:

• Windows registry repair and optimization.
• Auto-start manager.
• Registry defrag.
• Memory optimizer.
• Windows "beautification" features.
• File repair features.
• Location and removal of duplicate and unnecessary files.
• File and system configuration backup.
• Secure Sticky Pad computer "post-it" application.

Reg Organizer Registry Cleaner

If your computer is more than a few months old, chances are you have some errors hiding in your Windows registry. The more errors your registry harbors, the slower your computer is going to run and the less stable it's going to be. That's why a quality registry cleaner is so important.

6StarReviews decided to compare registry cleaner products and create comprehensive registry cleaner reviews. Reg Organizer is one of the popular registry cleaners we tested. The findings of our experience are outlined in the material below.

What's New?

• Advanced registry search feature.
• Integrated disk cleanup tool.
• Built-in software uninstaller.

User Interface and Product Application:

Reg Organizer installed without a problem and setup took just a few mouse clicks. Once we had the program up and running, operating it was very easy and the interface proved to be very user-friendly. Reg Organizer, like some of its competitors, offers a great backup and restore feature, ensuring that accidentally removed information is never completely lost. All in all, the program was very intuitive and provided registry optimization features that did the job well.

6StarReviews Favorite Feature:

We really liked the fact that Reg Organizer allows you to run the registry in either a "normal" setting or an "advanced" setting. This allows both novice and advanced users to work at a level that they are comfortable with.

Reg Organizer Features:

• Registry cleaner and editor
• Registry search feature
• Integrated software uninstaller
• Registry defrag abilities
• Registry file preview
• Configuration manager
• File repair abilities
• Disc cleanup functions
• File and system configuration backup.
  
  

Nuke Errors with Error Nuker


6StarReviews found Error Nuker to be a well put together program that is not only simple to use, but highly effective. Error Nuker caters to anyone and everyone that owns a PC. While Error Nuker is not loaded with all the features that ASOv2 has, it does come with all the features that are necessary for repairing your computer’s errors.

Error Nuker was easy to install, the set-up was uncomplicated, and the software itself was very user friendly. Error Nuker comes automatically defaulted to the necessary settings, so the program is ready to go after you install.

Error Nuker searches deep into your computer system and scans through application paths, uninstall info, help files, file extensions, font files, most recently used files, shared DLLs, shared folders, startup programs, and shortcuts. This is the basic auto scan that is enabled at the time of installation. After completing a scan, Error Nuker allows you to view a list of errors broken down by type. You have the ability to manually select each error, giving you all the control or you can do a "select all" and fix all the errors that Error Nuker recommends.

Before you remove any errors, Error Nuker creates an essential back up of your system allowing you to restore it at any time should you ever make a mistake. Their scan will only take up 3 minutes of your time, which is one of the fastest registry cleaner scans.


Upside: Error Nuker is a registry cleaner that is great for a computer beginner or an intermediate user, 6StarReviews highly recommends this product.

Downside: Similar to what we've seen in other registry cleaners, Error Nuker does not list the severity of each error. This can make it difficult to determine which errors to remove. Also, we’d like to see a company offer phone support and Error Nuker only offers online support. The largest downside…Error Nuker is still promoting a 2005 version of their product. Until this is updated, we would suggest avoiding Error Nuker even if the 2005 version was a high quality product.

Fix-It with Fix-It Utilities

When you're trying to get something done on your computer, the last thing you want to experience is serious lags in your system speed. As the months go by, the performance issues get worse and eventually you may end up taking your hard drive in to an over-priced repair tech who will hopefully fix whatever may be wrong with it. If this sounds familiar, you may want to rethink how you've been handling this issue.

You can usually fix your performance issues yourself using a registry cleaner. There are a number of registry cleaners currently on the market. 6StarReviews decided to compare registry cleaners in order to determine which the best registry cleaner applications really were. Fix-It Utilities was one of the registry cleaner reviews we completed. Our findings are outlined below.

What's New?

• Spyware detection and removal abilities.
• Integrated virus protection.
• ErrorTracker troubleshooting technology.

User Interface and Product Application:

Fix-It Utilities was a bit more time consuming to install than its competitors were and we were required to install multiple segments rather than just one. The download process also took longer (approximately twenty minutes). While this did add quite a bit of time to the download and install time, it wasn't too much of an inconvenience.

Once the program was successfully up and running, operation was a breeze. Fix-It Utilities offered us multiple wizards to use, depending on which task we wanted to perform. This makes implementation of the product's various applications easy for even the most novice of users.

6StarReviews Favorite Feature:
The fact that Fix-It utilities offers comprehensive utilities managers in addition to the basic registry repair features makes this a great buy and a powerful product.

Fix-It Utilities Features:

• One-click registry repair and optimization.
• Protection from spyware and viruses.
• PC fix and rescue functions.
• Customized toolbar installation.
• Deleted file restoration.
• File managing software.
• Recovery and restore features.
  

Ace Utilities Cleans Registries


Anyone who has ever owned a computer knows that a system will work great at first, but over time every PC (no matter how wonderful the brand or the model) loses performance and begins to bog down. What's to blame? Usually, it's errors in the Windows registry. Fortunately, there's a way to correct the problem without taking your computer to the repair center every six months.

There are a number of products currently on the market designed to "repair" a Windows registry. The problem is, not all of them are everything they promise to be. How do you tell which is the best registry cleaner for you? 6StarReviews decided to compare registry cleaners to create comprehensive registry cleaner reviews. Ace Utilities was one of the products we tested. The findings of our experience are outlined in the review below.

What's new?

• User-friendly and intuitive Maintenance Wizard.
• Helpful uninstall manager for third-party applications.
• Compatible with Windows Vista.

User Interface and Product Application:

When we installed Ace Utilities, we ran into absolutely no problems. The process was seamless and took less than 10 minutes from the beginning of the download till the point when we had the program up and running. We found the all-in-one wizard, which allowed us to run all scans from one interface, very convenient. The only thing we really didn't like about this application is the fact that it wouldn't allow us to kill processes that were currently running. It did, however, work wonderfully when it came to cleaning our registry.

6StarReviews Favorite Feature:
The all-in-one wizard is definitely a benefit and the fact that we could customize areas of our registry that we didn't want the application to touch was also very helpful.

Ace Utilities Features:
Cleans and repairs the Windows registry.
Removes junk files.
Locates duplicate files on your computer.
Erases your computer's history files.
Convenient auto-start manager.
Locates and removes invalid shortcuts.
Complete removal of deleted files.
Uninstall manager complete removes unwanted programs.

Online Movie Rentals: Convenient & Fun

Instead of having to run to the store when you feel like renting a flick or driving to your neighborhood movie theater, DVD online rentals make movie rentals quick and simple. While Blockbuster is on every corner and tucked away in almost every strip mall, many people don’t know that this mega-movie store offers online rentals.

Why drive to the store when all of your favorite movies or even some you’ve been dying to see are all available in online collections of movies, ready to be sent to your front door?

Movie stores themselves are recognizing the importance of the Internet market. Reuters reported that a popular movie-chain, Movie Gallery, has plans for late this year to open an online DVD rental service. Reason being? Many of their customers have already realized the convenience in renting from Netflix, a leading DVD movie rental service.

Reuters says, “Chief Financial Officer Thomas Johnson said the company learned from a survey that about 10 percent of Hollywood Video customers and about 2 percent of Movie Gallery customers were renting new releases from its stores, but finding older films through the online DVD rental services.”

This day in age, everything is available on the World Wide Web. You can do your online banking, shop for groceries, buy your brother a birthday present and rent DVD’s from your home or office. Never before has it been easier to explore your way through such an extensive inventory of movies. If you’re ready to click your way through a virtual movie store instead of wandering the aisles trying to figure out if Pulp Fiction is in “Drama” or “Thriller,” then compare DVD online rental services to find one that best fits your needs.

Effects of Spyware

You’ve heard of the traditional computer virus. Your computer blinks, freezes and acts erratic. Just when you think you knew who the culprit was, your Anti-spyware software kicks in and surprises you. Many of us have no idea what spyware is and where it comes from.

Spyware usually hides itself amongst those pesky pop-up advertisements (aka adware) you receive when you surf the Net. It is software purposely designed to track your Web habits or personal information.

While it may not seem threatening to have your shopping habits recorded so advertisers can better target you in a demographic, just think about this: You have enough going on behind the scenes of your computer. Your anti-virus software may be running, your automatic updates may be updating, your Internet service may be surfing and you may be downloading music. The last thing you need are hidden programs running to slow all of your desired applications down.

However, there are malicious spyware and adware programs designed to steal your Social Security number, record credit card numbers when you’re having a field day on Ebay or change the default settings you have set on your PC.

However, some spyware can be prevented by carefully reading download disclosures on software you may be trying out on Download.com or the Terms of Service before joining a “free” email host. Even though a site may seem legitimate, remember that there are certain statistics or needs a company has and it is their duty to collect them.

While these annoying effects do pose a major threat on the security of your PC, there are many spyware cleaners around to rid them from your computer and life. Even though the best spyware removal may not be able to completely clean your machine, it is best to compare spyware detectors and find one that suits you. You never know when you may be the next target of a department store’s marketing department or the man down the street who wants to go shopping….with your credit card.