We knew that Outpost Personal Firewall Pro 2 would improve on its predecessor, but this version is a major upgrade. I'm not just talking about the superb revamped interface, which couples simplicity with power, but a quick look under the pretty skin confirms that this is a serious development.

Take control of your PC with some handy utilities to keep applications in check.

A software firewall has to really stand out to succeed in the crowded market, but ZoneAlarm Pro 3.5 with Web Filtering does just that.

The best of the bunch we reviewed, this is a document editor worth checking out.

A useful code editor that offers a small, but powerful set of features.

With Internet Explorer’s security flaws and no way of securely erasing footprint files, the boost to privacy is minimal.

With less hand-holding and a greater feeling of control and configuration, Norton is definitely geared more towards the advanced user than McAfee. Although the interface is quite different, it's undoubtedly a more professional product.

With less hand-holding and a greater feeling of control and configuration, Norton is definitely geared more towards the advanced user than McAfee. Although the interface is quite different, it's undoubtedly a more professional product.

Protect your personal data with these essential downloads that offer spyware protection, data encryption and more

If you find yourself at the economy end of the Vista ladder, third-party downloads can give you some Ultimate power

If you don’t fancy giving the Registry a health check yourself, plenty of tools will clean it up for you.

At first glance, not much appears to have changed from version 3. A closer look, however, reveals that the engine in version 4 has been tweaked and optimised towards a more powerfully specified product.

There’s a lot to consider before jumping on the BlackBerry bandwagon. Should you or shouldn’t you use a dedicated blackberry device?