• Avira Premium Security Suite (32 and 64 Bit)
  
• BitDefender family (32 and 64 Bit)
• Comodo (32 and 64 Bit) Not Recommended (Warning: Includes Ask Toolbar disguised as Surfsafe Toolbar!)
  
• EQSecure (32 Bit)
• Jetico Personal Firewall (32 and 64 Bit)
• PC Tools family (32 Bit)
  
• Privacyware solutions (32 and 64 Bit)
  
• ProSecurity (32 Bit)
• System Safety Monitor (32 Bit)
• Webroot Desktop Firewall (32 Bit) (Requires Registration)
• Zone Alarm (32 Bit) (Warning: Ask Toolbar Pre-checked for installation on Free Version, identified as ZoneAlarm Spy Blocker)
  

• AhnLan family (32 and 64 Bit)
• Avanquest System Suite (32 Bit)
  
• BullGuard family (32 and 64 Bit)
• CA Family (32 and 64 Bit)
• DefenseWall HIPS (32 Bit)
  
• ESET Smart Security (32 and 64 Bit)
• F-Secure

A few weeks ago I posted about some of the tools Microsoft provides to help establish the costs and saving that deploying Vista can bring. One of the issues that I have is how do we get the numbers to fill in those forms; well MS has you covered there too. This tool is really useful.

With the MS Assessment and Planning Solution Accelerator you can scan the computers in your network for information such as which OS and Service pack they are running, and if they are good candidates to upgrade to Vista. There are even some tools geared towards migrating your servers to 2008, and qualifying workloads that are good for virtualization. You can also generate some really nifty reports. These reports save a ton of time, and can help in presenting information to the managers in your life. In short this tool was designed with lazy admins in mind!

Note: When you install MS APSA you also need to install SQL server, and the installer will automatically download and install it for you during the installation. You also need a copy of Word 2007 and Excel 2007 for document generation.

The Microsoft Assessment and

As far as making sure that you do not overload your primary hard drive with assorted programs and files you need, if you have a partitioned your hard disk, try to use them. This saves you a lot of problems especially if you talk about speed when you use your computer. Just like us, a computer needs the proper breathing space and by managing the directories where you install third party programs, you can really save yourself the trouble of seeing your primary hard drive being filled up.

Actually, if you had a choice it would be wise to have only these things on your main hard drive:

1. The Operating System
2. Anti-Virus Software
3. Microsoft Office

If you look at it, you can even choose to install your MS Office applications on a separate drive. It will not harm anything as far as performance is concerned. For their target save directory, you can choose not to save it at the usual My Documents folder. You can create and assign a new folder on the secondary hard disk space so that you can be sure that new files will not clam up your main drive.

Ideally, most people would allocate 10 to 15 gigabyte for their