Impressive and free antivirus and antispyware package

Platform : Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP

Type:

Manufacturer: Paragon Software

Size: 11MB

Rating: 5

Verdict: A great antivirus and antispyware program at no cost

System Requirements:

Partitioning your hard drive is an invaluable way to optimise the use of disk space, improve performance, or create a dual-boot PC so you can install another operating system. Just don't use Windows own partition tools to do the job, as they're destructive, wiping the data from whatever drive you working on: you're much better off using a safe alternative like Paragon Partition Manager 2005.

If your drive is starting with a single partition, for instance, then Partition Manager 2005 can resize it in a few mouse clicks. It's able to create primary or extended partitions, and can format them in a range of file systems: FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, Ext2FS, Ext3FS, ReiserFS and L-Swap2. And if you want to take full control, then Partition Manager 2005 even lets you choose the cluster size for the drive, and the number of sectors allocated to boot code.

It's then possible to create new partitions in the empty space, merge partitions together, or move them around on the hard drive. And if you made one or more partitions a little too small and it's now short on disk capacity, then use the Redistribute Free Space wizard to even things up.

Even if you couldn't care less about partitions, there may still be functions here that you'll find useful. There's a Copy Hard Disk option, for example, useful if you've bought a new drive. The program can convert your file system from NTFS to FAT32, and there's even an option to defragment the NTFS Master File Table (MFT), boosting performance in a way that can't be achieved by normal defragmentation tools.

Ignore the ‘time limited demo’ reference on this page. To obtain your serial code, head to http://registration.paragon.ag/pm2005

UPGRADE OFFER – save 20% on the Paragon range



Partition Manager 2005 is only one of many drive-related Paragon products. The range also includes Drive Backup, a powerful disk imaging and cloning tool that also supports differential backups to improve performance. CD-ROM Emulator can create virtual CD and DVD drives, then mount them with disk images so you don't have to keep swapping (and perhaps damaging) the real disks. And Disk Wiper securely erases files so they can't be undeleted later. Prices start at $29.95 (around £16.50), and there's a 20% discount available if you order within 7 days of registering Partition Manager 2005. See your registration email for the promotional code.