XAMPP is available as a free download in two specific packages: full and lite. The latest full version of XAMPP 1.7.3 for windows can be obtains at: http://www.apachefriends.org. Download the EXE Self-extracting RAR archive from apachefriends.org; execute the executable file and extract the file to the directory you specified.

Found this great tool on TechRepublic and as I always value their opinion and recommendations I decided to give it a try. Registry bloat is a leading cause of a slow unresponsive system. Finding a quality tool that properly analyses and is capable of cleaning the registry without causing other problems is not as easy as one might think. I am very cautious about using programs that can cause my computer to become a brick in an attempt to make it run better. Before I knew what the registry was I tried quite a few of these types of programs and found myself spending a long weekend rebuilding my system because the software bricked my computer.

So you have a new computer and you are ready to start installing your software and surfing the Internet. Many new PC owners fail to do any more than just that and this can lead to a stalled system or worse yet an infected computer.

If you are like so many others and are not ready to cave in and buy a new computer then you are opening up yourself to infections from bot-related malicious software. That is according to the just released Microsoft Security Intelligence Report that covers the first half of 2010.