December 2006 Newsletter

In This Issue

  • Commentary: A Video is Worth a Hundred Blogs
  • 100,000 Kbps? Lightning Fast Connections Drive Test Enhancements
  • Announcing the Pitstop 500! Great Prizes for the Fastest PC
  • Research: Keeping Microsoft Up at Night & Slaying the Antivirus Giants
  • Tip: Protection from Little Fingers
  • Research: Password Survey Results
  • Research: Password Management Software Trends
  • Tip: Disabling Auto-Restart
  • New Survey: Data Backup & Storage
Commentary: A Video is Worth a Hundred Blogs
What began as our effort to educate the public about a serious PC safety issue, evolved into one of the most watched online videos of November. Rob reflects on our first venture into video and what you might expect from us next.

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100,000 Kbps? Lightning Fast Connections Drive Test Enhancements


In the last month, we’ve had PC’s with download scores of close to 100,000 kbps! We’ve improved our logic
and added larger download images to improve the accuracy of our
Internet Connection Center
and award winning Full Tests.
Announcing the Pitstop 500! Great Prizes for the Fastest PC

Start your PC’s! This month, when you run our world renowned Full Tests,
you will automatically be eligible in the Pitstop 500! The fastest PC takes first prize, but everyone is eligible
for the random drawing.
Contest Details & Rules.

Free Spyware Scan
If your PC is acting strangely, or acting sluggish,
quite often spyware is the root cause. Check out our new spyware scan, Exterminate. It’s free and features a step by step analysis of any unwanted pests installed on your computer.
Scan for free.
Research: Software Market Trends


After looking at close to 2 million PC’s in the last year, we provide an inside look at the software industry
analyzing all of the industry heavyweights including Yahoo, Symantec, McAfee, Microsoft, Corel, Google, eBay, and Apple.
Our research team delves into the impact of
freeware and shareware on the software titans in this comprehensive yet concise video report.
Tip: Protection from Little Fingers
Have you ever lost an important project to a youngster eager to explore the power button on your PC?
Stormy13 shares a great tip for protecting against this possibility. Learn more

Free Driver Scan
Hardware manufacturers frequently update their
Windows drivers to improve the performance and stability of their products. If you have a peculiar problem with your
PC, quite often it can be resolved by an updated driver. Check out your PC’s driver status, with a free driver scan.
Password Survey Results

62% of those responding to our November password survey, change their passwords only when they perceive a security threat and amazingly, 36% simply commit their passwords to memory. Do your password related habits put you at risk? Check out all of the results.
Research: Password Management Software Trends
Given some of the surprising results from the password survey, our research team
took a closer look at the use of password management software on PCs we have tested.

Free Privacy Scan
Your PC is storing a mountain of personal information about you and your surfing habits. The new Erase 1.1 offers a free and even more powerful privacy scan that lets you see the personal information that is at risk. Give it a try, it’s easy & free!
Tip: Disabling Auto-Restart
By default, a Windows XP system will auto-restart when a system crashes. The reboot can happen so fast that you miss the opportunity to read the related error messages. Rmcvey shows us how to disable this feature.
Participate In Our New Survey and Win a $100 Gift Certificate

This month we put together a short survey about data backup and storage. One lucky participant will receive a $100 Amazon gift certificate. Click here to take the survey. Check out the list of past lucky winners.

PDF Converter 4
A fast and easy way to convert PDF files into documents, forms and spreadsheets.
PDF Converter seamlessly integrates into every day applications like:
Word, Excel and Outlook.
Got a Windows Tip or Trick?

You can win $100 if your Windows Tip or Trick is selected for our monthly newsletter. Just join our forums, affectionately called The Pit, and make your submission in the Tips or Tricks section. Even if you don’t have a tip or trick, come join our growing and happening online community. Join

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About PC Pitstop
PC Pitstop, LLC (https://www.pcpitstop.com) was formed in February 2000, and offers users a unique way to make sure their PCs are running fast, stable and secure–all through a free, Web-based interface.

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