Its that wonderful time of the year when we all fight crowds, wait in long lines, stress-out, and spend too much for the newest hottest item that will not be the newest hottest item by New Years Day.

The IT industry is currently the industry most obsessed with new fresh products. And I usually like to be finding easier ways of doing the things I do for work.

I’m pretty much set for productivity and admin software. But I had read recently on CNET’s Download.com of some new anti-spyware software. So that gave me the itch to set out and find some new (software) toys.

Trading 2 programs for 1

To fight spyware I was using Spyware Terminator and Spybot S&D to run scans once a week. I was getting tired of using two programs, running two scans, and being off my computer (personal choice) to give the scans priority for that long. As part of their Security Starter Kit, CNET highlights Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. It has a simple interface and options, is effective, and is quick w/ its scan time. Its a light program compared to other anti-spyware programs that offered too many options that usually go unused. So, I switched to Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. It found a few files that were not found by the the two other scans I used to run. I’ve found it useful, quick, and efficient. I’m glad I made the switch.

An upgrade for screenshots

To capture custom-sized screen shots I was using Wisdom-Soft’s ScreenHunter. A very useful program. It always came in handy for website graphic stuff. It allows you to capture part of your screen, then copy and / or save as a file. CNET also has a Windows Starter Kit with software that will make your Windows experience better and more productive. Among their Image Editors, is Gadwin PrintScreen. One of the highlights is that it allows you to adjust your capture area before you save. You can also zoom the capture before you copy / save. These are handy upgrades from what I was using.

I think you will like these two new toys.