Windows security toolbox: Our readers' favorite freeware

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Your favorite free security tools:

 AVG Anti-Virus (Free Edition)
 Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer
 Fresh Diagnose
 Look@LAN Network Monitor
 McAfee's Stinger
 PsTools
 SequoiaView
 Softerra's LDAP Browser
 Spybot - Search & Destroy
 SQL Server Best Practices Analyzer
 SuperScan v4.0
 TaskZip
 Windows AntiSpyware (Beta)
 Click here for more free Windows security tools and comments from our readers

Top 10 most popular freeware downloads on SearchWindowsSecurity.com:

   1. NetStumbler

   2. SiteDigger 2.0

   3. Cain & Abel

   4. LanSpy 2.0

   5. SoftPerfect Network Scanner

   6. Process Explorer

   7. Netcat

   8. Nmap

   9. John the Ripper

 10. Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA)

More free Windows security tools and comments from our readers

John P. writes: One I rarely see mentioned, but find extremely useful, is Prevx Home. If I'm testing a lot of software, I don't need to worry about the source or worry about anything sneaking onto my PC. It's also easy to temporarily disable Prevx Home when installing a known safe program. I particularly like the fact that when disabled, it leaves a small window at the bottom corner of my screen reminding me that it has been suspended.

Prevx Home is free -- and even though there are more advanced versions of Prevx available, I find the Home version more than adequate. It has saved my skin a few times when I have been careless clicking and it also uses relatively little system resources.

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you click on the link for Prevx Home, you will find more information on free trials for enterprise versions of Prevx' intrusion prevention software.

Josh F. writes: Tinyapps.com and other sites offer freeware that'll fit on a removable drive (I even have 10+ on my dinky 128 MB Flash drive (wow, I remember when 128 MB was large).

Anyway, my favorites -- of the ones I've gotten so far -- are (in order):

1. IECookiesView -- it lets me delete or destroy the cookies of each XP user separately (and not throw away ones I think or have been told are needed
2. HijackThis -- indispensable as long as you know what you're doing
3. Unstoppable Copier
4. StartupRun
5. Process Explorer -- it has a dragover find windows process, which is great for that random box that won't close or minimize or anything else (EDITOR'S NOTE: Process Explorer was selected by two of our site experts, Kevin Beaver and Jonathan Hassell, in our Windows security toolbox: Our experts' favorite freeware feature.)
6. Crap Cleaner -- don't let it fool you, you do need to install it but you can run the EXE off your Thumb Drive
7. Regcleaner
8. Restore -- great undelete but I can't make it work for permanent removal (see below)
9. Simple File Shredder -- permanently removes files up to 2x overwrite
10. Disk Cleaner

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