Best File Conversion
Only PDF Converter Professional allows you to make changes to PDF files with the fluidity, flexibility and interactivity of real word processing. You get all the PDF tools necessary to annotate, markup, secure and compress PDF plus additional features only available from Nuance for document conversion, search, connectivity and more. Create PDF files from any PC application Instantly create 100% industry-standard PDF files with security options that are fully compatible with all PDF viewers. You can even add bookmarks and transfer hyperlinks when creating PDF documents from Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Take advantage of powerful word processing capabilities – in your PDF Advanced editing functionality converts PDF files into fluid and dynamic PDF documents complete with full word processing capabilities – all at the click of a button. Don’t retype your documents If you must work with PDF documents in other applications, don’t waste valuable time recreating them – convert them. Turn paper into PDF more productively Create PDF files directly from your scanner with time-saving one-click scanning to PDF. Combine any type of file and/or folder into striking PDF Portfolios—with attractive cover pages that guide your audience—that can be viewed with any popular PDF reader. Enhance document security Add passwords with secure 128-bit or 256-bit AES encryption and permission controls to PDF files to control document viewing, printing, and modifications. Effortlessly create 100% industry-standard PDF files.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"YET ANOTHER UPDATE. After waiting for a response from Nuance, no luck there, I decided that I had to try to fix the problem with broken PDF creation (see below). I did get it to work by uninstalling PDF Converter Professional 8, deleting the Program folders and reinstalling the software. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~. UPDATE ON THIS REVIEW. Following comments on the Nuance self-support forum, I have just carried out a few quick experiments. It turns out that this version of PDF Converter Pro is, for some people at least, seriously broken. The problem area is in scanning to create searchable PDF files. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~. If you look at the reviews of PDF Converter Professional 7.0 you will see lots of tales of woe, especially around the issue of activation, Nuance's mechanism to prevent piracy. Apart from that, PDF Converter Professional 8.0 is a reasonable step forward from its predecessor. "Reduce File" gets some space back, but it does not seem to shrink images and generally achieves a pathetic level of shrinkage. Finally, Nuance has quietly beefed up its support area by relaunching its forums where users can share problems and experiences. Or visit the Google PaperPort Group, which also covers Nuance's PDF products."
"So, for example, let's say you're marking up pdf's using the "rectangle tool.""
"We get a watermark with this product that says: PDF Create 8 Trial. [...]. First, we tried working with Nuance online support. My computer is an administrator but the fix will not stick when the program is reinstalled. Unfortunately, support is very difficult to understand and repeats the same thing. Stay on the line, hold on... On April 1, I was online for more than 1 hour and the person eventually told me it was my provider (Morningstar, Ned Davis Research...) that was the problem Of course, this is Nuance Software's watermark and Adobe worked fine so that was not a good answer. But this time, the rep (Benjamin) told me there was nothing they could do and they would put my question into their research department. But, this support method speaks a lot about the culture of this company. So, today my 70 pages of downloads have the Nuance watermark on them and I guess they expect me to just live with it. We'll live with it for another 2-3 days, then we will ask to return all boxes to Amazon."
"The serial number provided with this product worked for the first year."
PCmover Professional 10 is the ONLY software product that automatically transfers all selected files, folders, setting, user profiles and applications from an old PC to a new one (or from an old operating system to a new one). Because most applications transferred are installed ready-to-use on the new PC, there’s usually no need to find the old CD’ for previously downloaded programs, serial numbers, or licensing codes. Easy-to-Use- Install PCmover on both of your computers and follow the simple wizard to update to the latest version of PCmover and then start transferring everything you select to your new Windows 10 PC - all versions of PCmover 10 fully support Microsoft Windows 10.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Operates as described for files, but often requires reloading Apps for them to function on the new computer."
"Because the new PC needs an internet connection to verify the serial number or key before running, I got slightly out of step one time. It took maybe an hour to set up and much longer (10.5 hours) to complete the transfer (approx 200 GB) overnight but there were no hang-ups once it was running."
"Bought the disk with network cable to good advantage as estimated time for 59 Gigabyte transfer was 15 hours depending on speed of internet connection and cable did it in 3.5 hours; The disk version was old and the format for entering the serial number did not match the format of the serial number on the paper insert."
"I even have software running on my Windows 7 PC. that will not install on a Windows 7 PC but because it was migrated and not installed it is on the PC and it WORKS!!!"
"It transferred a lot of stuff I didn't want to transfer; and yes I followed all the instructions and "selected" what I wanted to transfer."
"Sorry But tis software crashed my older PC and I had to restore it from a disk image I was not happy I wasn't thinking and did it over Christmas not thinking that their support would be off not that that is bad) I am going to try it again."
"After four hours of work setting it up, including 1.5 hours on phone, I thought it was working, went to bed with "six hours to transfer files"."
"Those that tried to move ending up not working and could not be removed so I could reload the application software."
Includes batch audio converter to convert thousands of files.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Give the software about an hour for the registration screen to come up."
"When you have an odd audio file, this is a good program to convert even the oldest formats."
"making files to be played on car radio ,,, works very well."
"I've used this program for years and it's been a tremendous tool to convert Mp3 to Wav, or from Wave to Mp3, and to make Mp3 files small enough so that I could send them email."
"We went through several "free" alternatives while testing and decided on Switch Plus Audio File Converter for several reasons."
"Antivirus Webroot categrize this software as a malware I had to request a refund because I trust webroot."
"this product doesn't work...."
"the software may or may not work fine, but if it will delete itself from my hard drive in 30 days, because I cannot get it registered, it is no good to me."
Best File Compression & Decompression
Safeguard account numbers and photos on your PCs and Macs, contacts on your smartphones and private data on your tablets from criminals trying to gain access to them. Instantly download and receive your activation code to be protected in minutes - Antivirus is included, and your protection is always up-to-date to defend against ransomware, spyware, malware, and unsafe websites, while safeguarding your identity and online transactions.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I (like many others) did not want to pay the retail price through Norton to renew (which was $79.99 until the last day of my subscription, in which they sent an offer for $59.99). Here are your super easy steps to follow; As soon as I made the download purchase, I received an email from Amazon that said "Order details". Within that email, It will say "Product Key". When you click on that, you will see your standard "Norton 360" screen that gives you the options; "Security - Identity - Backup - Performance - More Norton". Look just below that and you will see "Subscription Status" (with the days remaining) and followed by "RENEW". That being said, I would follow the recommendations of the previous reviewers and assume that it will NOT give you any remaining days on your current subscription and will reset it to just 365 for the new one. I will also update the review with any issues with the product, but by all appearances it simply continues my Norton protection that I was already pleased with. If you're renewing your Norton 360, I assume that you were satisfied with that product too, so reviewing it's features in this review might be redundant. Just go back to Norton.com and sign in again), simply click on the "install on another device", then just enter your email address in the box provided). Norton will email the link directly to your phone (assuming that you have your email set up on your phone, of course). Update 5/15/2016 - One feature that I have been displeased with on the mobile app, is that the app settings do not allow me to scan or updates when I am on Wi-Fi only."
"Norton Security Premium is the next generation of Norton Security with Backup for 10 devices. Norton Security Deluxe is like the older Norton Security for 5 devices. Norton Security Premium comes with licensing for 10 devices: Windows, Mac, IOS (iPhone/iPad) and Android. IF you followed the activation directions this will be installed as a separate product subscription and you will need to do the following: **NOTE** If you have Norton Security (with or without backup) installed and you get this new subscription you may need to remove your device from the Norton control panel. AFTER I removed old versions I was able to install Norton Security Premium very easily and without problems. I registered the product in my existing Norton account to activate 10 devices I could install. The download went smoothly and installation on my Windows 7 desktop was faster than with older CD based Norton products and similar to Norton Security with Backup. I found it interesting that the installation branding and the control panel branding is still Norton Security with Backup reinforcing my perception of a simple evolution and mostly branding changes. Conclusions: If you have last years (or older versions) of Norton installed and want this to be a renewal, DON'T FOLLOW THE ACTIVATION DIRECTIONS! If you have gone through norton.com/setup, be sure to remove your device from the Norton control panel and device before installing the new version. That's annoying. Because it's a great product for home users, having to reinstall if you buy a new subscription (vs renewing) and the IOS app remains quite limited I'm giving Norton Security Premium 4 stars."
"Norton has become extremely intrusive."
"OK (third time now) Norton is telling my my TRIAL SUBSCRIPTION is over. You only loose the remaining subscription days (according to Norton) if you buy the new subscription from anyone other than Norton/Symantec."
Best Computer Screen Savers
Customize your aquarium with a wide variety of fish and be captivated by their life-like behavior as they swim through a 3D reef. Stunning 3D Tank with Dozens of Realistic Fish.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Beautiful and calming but wont' run on latest Macs (2017)."
"there is a better one called Dream Aquarium but this one was on sale."
"This looks great on my TV - I'm sitting in my living room listening to sounds of the ocean through iTunes while watching the beautiful fish swim around."
"love this great ot watch."
"GR8 product & very speedy!"
"Getting in touch with Nova was difficult as phone options all divert the caller to various tech support websites, which never led to a satisfactory result."
"Would not install on my windows 10 computer."
"I am outraged that is have to pay for an authorization code IN addition to having paid for the software!"
Best Drivers & Driver Recovery
Just insert the PC Wizard disc in your computer's drive and select Driver Wizard from the start-up menu. Automatic Hardware Drivers Detection and Installation for Acer Computers (Desktops and Laptops) - Latest Version.
Find Best Price at AmazonBest Computer Disk Partitioning
Protect your data by making a backup of the contents of your hard drive - without restarting Windows. Restores data from images created with PowerQuest Drive Image 7.0 and previous versions of Norton Ghost. * Symantec Recovery Disk lets you restore data from a backup image even when the computer cant start up into Windows. Norton Ghost 2003 is included to back up and restore data to: Windows 9x, Me, NT; Linux; and DOS systems. Advanced backup and recovery for the PC.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"You MUST run CHKDSK /F before trying to made an image- one bad file and the program gives you a message that you have a cyclic redunancy check error. From the words of Norton tech support: After performing LiveUpdate you will receive a prompt that will ask you to restart the computer."
"I only bought Ghost because I know Drive Image is a. good product."
"Having previous experience with this backup program, I was happy to use it."
"When I complained to Microsoft about my computer's hanging up, I got the reply that it was GHOST; that Symantec knew of the "GHOST" problem but had no fix for it."
"The online support is totally worthless, and otherwise you pay big bucks."
"Using Ghost 2003 I could back up my entire hard drive to one blank DVD, whereas Ghost 9 insists on using two DVDs."
Best Backup & Recovery
PCmover Professional 10 is the ONLY software product that automatically transfers all selected files, folders, setting, user profiles and applications from an old PC to a new one (or from an old operating system to a new one). Because most applications transferred are installed ready-to-use on the new PC, there’s usually no need to find the old CD’ for previously downloaded programs, serial numbers, or licensing codes. Easy-to-Use- Install PCmover on both of your computers and follow the simple wizard to update to the latest version of PCmover and then start transferring everything you select to your new Windows 10 PC - all versions of PCmover 10 fully support Microsoft Windows 10.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I have switched to new computers many times in my life. Once I uninstalled that and re-ran PC Mover (it can be run multiple times between the same 2 computers, each time only transferring what didn't come across before), my Word, Excel, Outlook etc."
"This product does not work as advertised."
"It transferred a lot of stuff I didn't want to transfer; and yes I followed all the instructions and "selected" what I wanted to transfer."
"I selected Pictures, Documents, Videos and Music for my files to be transferred and a few selected programs. None of the programs transferred in a working condition, yet a lot of the program system files transferred, but not the application themselves."
"With the included crossover cable, this should have been an easy, if time consuming, process except for relicensing some of the software. My wife is an accountant and uses MS Office and IE for work and shopping, all mainstream stuff and nothing unusual. I've been programming mainframe and PC applications for over 30 years and built my own computer from components when the 286 chip first appeared. I know I could be completely wrong but that's life, reap what you sow and judge a tree by its fruit."
Best PC Maintenance
Norton Utilities fixes common PC problems, frees up memory, speeds startup time, and boosts program and overall system speed to help keep your PC running fast and error-free. Unneeded files, outdated registry entries, and hard disk problems can slow down your PC and even crash it. Norton Utilities 16.0 Norton Utilities fixes common problems, frees up memory, speeds startup time, and boosts program and overall system speed to help keep your PC running fast and error-free. Speeds PC startup Fixes common PC problems Improves overall PC performance Frees up memory and disk space Lets you restore mistakenly deleted files Improves Windows stability Helps your PC run like new Securely deletes sensitive files Removes duplicate files Recovers lost photos, music, and other Stuff Removes programs you don’t use. Lets you turn off services and programs Windows automatically loads at startup, so your PC gets up and running faster. Duplicate File Finder: Finds all of the duplicate files scattered across your computer’s hard drive, so you can remove them and free up disk space for more of your stuff. Registry Cleaner: Helps eliminate Windows Registry problems that can slow down your PC, trigger error messages, and cause Windows to crash. Registry Defragmenter: Removes gaps, free space, and corrupt files in your registry and compacts it to free up system memory and make your PC start up faster. Startup Manager: Lets you choose what programs load automatically when Windows starts to free up memory and improve PC startup time. Registry Cleaner: Helps eliminate Windows Registry problems that can slow down your PC, trigger error messages, and cause Windows to crash.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I used to have a standalone program that had more options that you could set than this Norton product."
"I've been using Norton utilities for over 10 years and I've never been disappointed."
"I had some escapades with PCs that tried my patience and tempted me to throw them in the lake, but I persevered. Considering it for a week or so, I weighed the cost of what I already had versus going to Norton, and the fact that the other software had permeated all of my hard drive, likely, I finally made the decision and purchased Norton again."
"The functionality is questionable; in other words, when operating the performance program, the performance indicator does not reflect correction input - I believe the limits of the program to correct given errors is restricted by the operating system aggressive programs, such as Internet Security program protects its files."
"I've used Norton's products since Norton's Systemworks and I wanted the same program that was compatable with Window's 8.1 Norton Utilities does what Systemworks did and more."
"One click optimization or selective options wwere in the previous version but it appears to work faster."
"Norton 15 was heads and shoulders above this one...can never get the meter to green area...spent hours on it and with their tech support people on my desk top too... one of them actually sort of gave up, said would look into it, after a few hours and get back to me...that was 4 weeks ago...waiting... Norton this year has fallen down."
"If you run your machine in a manner which allows a single computer to boot from multiple disks this product is not for you."
Best Internet Utilities
Safeguard account numbers and photos on your PCs and Macs, contacts on your smartphones and private data on your tablets from criminals trying to gain access to them. Instantly download and receive your activation code to be protected in minutes - Antivirus is included, and your protection is always up-to-date to defend against ransomware, spyware, malware, and unsafe websites, while safeguarding your identity and online transactions.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I (like many others) did not want to pay the retail price through Norton to renew (which was $79.99 until the last day of my subscription, in which they sent an offer for $59.99). Here are your super easy steps to follow; As soon as I made the download purchase, I received an email from Amazon that said "Order details". Within that email, It will say "Product Key". When you click on that, you will see your standard "Norton 360" screen that gives you the options; "Security - Identity - Backup - Performance - More Norton". Look just below that and you will see "Subscription Status" (with the days remaining) and followed by "RENEW". That being said, I would follow the recommendations of the previous reviewers and assume that it will NOT give you any remaining days on your current subscription and will reset it to just 365 for the new one. I will also update the review with any issues with the product, but by all appearances it simply continues my Norton protection that I was already pleased with. If you're renewing your Norton 360, I assume that you were satisfied with that product too, so reviewing it's features in this review might be redundant. Just go back to Norton.com and sign in again), simply click on the "install on another device", then just enter your email address in the box provided). Norton will email the link directly to your phone (assuming that you have your email set up on your phone, of course). Update 5/15/2016 - One feature that I have been displeased with on the mobile app, is that the app settings do not allow me to scan or updates when I am on Wi-Fi only."
"Norton Security Premium is the next generation of Norton Security with Backup for 10 devices. Norton Security Deluxe is like the older Norton Security for 5 devices. Norton Security Premium comes with licensing for 10 devices: Windows, Mac, IOS (iPhone/iPad) and Android. IF you followed the activation directions this will be installed as a separate product subscription and you will need to do the following: **NOTE** If you have Norton Security (with or without backup) installed and you get this new subscription you may need to remove your device from the Norton control panel. AFTER I removed old versions I was able to install Norton Security Premium very easily and without problems. I registered the product in my existing Norton account to activate 10 devices I could install. The download went smoothly and installation on my Windows 7 desktop was faster than with older CD based Norton products and similar to Norton Security with Backup. I found it interesting that the installation branding and the control panel branding is still Norton Security with Backup reinforcing my perception of a simple evolution and mostly branding changes. Conclusions: If you have last years (or older versions) of Norton installed and want this to be a renewal, DON'T FOLLOW THE ACTIVATION DIRECTIONS! If you have gone through norton.com/setup, be sure to remove your device from the Norton control panel and device before installing the new version. That's annoying. Because it's a great product for home users, having to reinstall if you buy a new subscription (vs renewing) and the IOS app remains quite limited I'm giving Norton Security Premium 4 stars."
"Norton has become extremely intrusive."
"OK (third time now) Norton is telling my my TRIAL SUBSCRIPTION is over. You only loose the remaining subscription days (according to Norton) if you buy the new subscription from anyone other than Norton/Symantec."
Best Memory Management
Protect your data by making a backup of the contents of your hard drive - without restarting Windows. Restores data from images created with PowerQuest Drive Image 7.0 and previous versions of Norton Ghost. * Symantec Recovery Disk lets you restore data from a backup image even when the computer cant start up into Windows. Norton Ghost 2003 is included to back up and restore data to: Windows 9x, Me, NT; Linux; and DOS systems. Advanced backup and recovery for the PC.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"You MUST run CHKDSK /F before trying to made an image- one bad file and the program gives you a message that you have a cyclic redunancy check error. From the words of Norton tech support: After performing LiveUpdate you will receive a prompt that will ask you to restart the computer."
"I only bought Ghost because I know Drive Image is a. good product."
"Having previous experience with this backup program, I was happy to use it."
"When I complained to Microsoft about my computer's hanging up, I got the reply that it was GHOST; that Symantec knew of the "GHOST" problem but had no fix for it."
"The online support is totally worthless, and otherwise you pay big bucks."
"Using Ghost 2003 I could back up my entire hard drive to one blank DVD, whereas Ghost 9 insists on using two DVDs."
Best Handheld Utilities
Included Software and Tools: Boots up any PC or Laptop Computer, Repair and/or Format Hard Drive, Create new Partitions Easily Install Windows, CD & DVD Copying and Burning, Recovery Windows Passwords, Recover Lost Files from FAT and NTFS, Virus Detection and Cleaning Spyware Detection and Cleaning, Registry Repair & Restoration, File Manager, Backup Hard Drive, Securely Wipe Data from Hard Drive, Network access using an easy interface, ISO Image creator, Hardware Diagnostics, CPU Benchmarking Software, Putty for Telnet or SSH connectivity, Memory Tester, Windows Registry Analyzer, FTP Server Included, Dead Pixel Tester, Remote access other computers. The DVD has some Free, Open Source & GPL licensed programs. Boots up ANY PC or Laptop Computer - Ultimate Boot Disk CD that contains an array of useful tools such as analyzing, recovering and fixing your computer even if the operating system can not be booted.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Not bad does what it is supposed to do."
"EXCELLENT PRODUCT AND FREE TECHNICAL CUSTOMER SUPPORT ***** 5 STAR *****."
"THE BEST PRODUCT AND SERVICE!"
"GREAT PRODUCT!"
"Works as advertised!"
Best Cross Platform Utilities
Easily copy and paste and drag and drop text and files between Windows and Mac.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It does run Windows 10 with all the functions and I love the cross OS folder access which is very convenient."
"This version of Parallels 11 Key code ONLY , no software included."
"Lately, I needed to run Windows 10 in order to review manuscripts about Windows programming, and to run a Windows-only desktop utility. The product has a geek bonus: I have Ubuntu Linux, Android OS, Chrome OS, and even another Mac OS, running under Parallels Desktop 11 for Mac!"
"I upgraded last Friday to Parallels 11 (necessitated by upgrade of Mac OS) and all of my shared files can no longer be reached. I'm probably getting too technical here but the point is - I can not access my files and can therefore not function in my professional role. There is no phone number to call for support, only support tickets where they determine in 24-48 if you are worthy of technical support."
"Overall, I am pleasantly surprised (shocked, really) how easy and cheap it is to run Windows software on my Mac now."
"One issue that seems troublesome is printing from windows....seems that everything is converted to a postscript file or something like that from a windows file which results in very slow printing from the USB printers I have connected to an iMac."
"In the past, Parallels would allow a limited number of activations on one license, such that you could install it on your desktop and laptop."