This is a rebranded Private Firewall which is made by Privacyware.com. I think this could be a very good firewall but using it in Vista I noticed a memory leak. I am emailing Webroot's support to alert them of the issue. If you want more info about the firewall you can go to Privacyware.com. The settings in this firewall incorporate a HIPS program called DSA although DSA is not enabled by default. If/when the meory leak issue is resolved I will reinstall it on my system.

Several new features have been added recently. For instance there is now spell check while you type, a more configurable ad blocker, add whatever search engines you like (I have Merriam-Webster's dictionary which is very convenient), it even has a screen capture with auto save, super drag-n-drop and mouse gestures. Check out the IE7pro site to see a full list of features. Also, while you are there, head over to their forum and see how active it is. There you can find where people have gotten help setting up IE7pro and where several user suggestions are made for future upgrades.

Finally, I am not real big on browser plug-ins, toolbars, BHO, etc. But IE7pro finally puts Internet Explorer back in the same user friendly league as Firefox and Opera. I have used it on XP and am currently using it with Vista. Also, I have what I consider to be some pretty good security products- Online Armor firewall, NOD32 antivirus, and I have went through several HIPS programs; currently I am using Kaspersky Internet Security 7 suite with IE in protected mode (Vista), DEP, UAC, etc. And I have never been alerted that IE7pro has been phoning home, gathering user data, etc. So I am pretty confident there are no privacy/security issues with this product.

This is an excellent HIPS program and I choose it over the free offerings of Cyberhawk, Dynamic Security Agent and Prosecurity. The program performs well in all detection/leak/termination tests. Some may not like the program as it's continued activity of pop-up warnings makes it the opposite of Cyberhawk. But that is because it monitors in such an extensive way. The program's "busy" alert windows is fine for my taste but I could see where other would consider it all annoying. But if you are OK with the alerts and want a top notch free HIPS program this is what I would recommend.

This program seems rather simple at first look as it is easy to download and sits in the task bar. A minus is that there is no way to disable the program except for an uninstall.

As most people know, this program is especially meant to monitor a system and detect keyloggers. Ease of use is exceptional. A user is asked if a program activity should be blocked or not and any mistaken blocks can later be corrected with a "forget" selection. Most activity from this program usually occurs at start-up as it monitors the keyboard, screen and open windows. This can possibly cause conflicts as Snoopfree tries to get first in line of programs starting upon reboot. Many anti-virus programs try to be first in line, so if a conflict exists this is the most likely cause. But you will figure that out quickly as you will be booting up your computer.

One feature makes this program stand out against all other keylogger programs- it has the ability to detect attempts at screen captures. I know of no other free program that can make such detections. That alone makes this a must have program and in fairness this program should be selling in the $60-$70 range. But thankfully the program's creator feels it necessary to keep this program free for now. If you do not have it downloaded already, I would do so. I doubt it stays free forever.

All in all this is probably the best free anti-keylogger program available. I would have given it 5's across the board if it were able to be disabled minus uninstall.

Cyberhawk is offered as a Pro and free version. But the free version starts out with the Pro features the first 15 days of use. After that a user will either have to purchase the program to keep it running as Pro or some features will be disabled and the program continues.

Cyberhawk is known as a "quiet" HIPS program, rarely popping up a warning screen unless a possible malicious attack is at hand. This program has a loyal following of users and I suspect that a quiet HIPS is part of the reason.

I was interested in Cyberhawk because of its ability to detect keyloggers. But I was disappointed after testing it aainst the AKLT of firewallleaktester.com. It failed all five tests. An earlier version passed all the keylogger tests provided by Syssafety.com (home of system safety monitor). So I suspect this current version passes some keylogger tests. But the AKLT is supposed to be a fairly basic test, minus the screenshot captures test. And Cyberhawk failing really turned me off to the Pro version. Perhaps a later release will address this issue.

The program is one to keep an eye on and some users may feel comfortable with it as it is in its current version. I'll wait for an upgrade before using it as my HIPS program.

This product performs very well on the Spycar and APT (Advanced Process Termination) tests. Actually, it passed very test given in those two settings. The GUI is very nice and clean. It may seem over-simplified for advanced users but is very well laid out for beginners. The pop-up warnings allow the user to get more info from a link in the pop up screen and there is even the option to queery the suspected activity with the user's default search engine which will open your browser to those search results.

DSA performs poorly at registry protection as it failed to prevent any of the Ghost Security RegTest modifications. But it is still a very good program and on line with the free programs offerred by Prosecurity and System Safety Monitor.

I would suggest users try all three programs with their systems to see if any conflicts arise with other programs. Then keep the one you feel most comfortable with. Just be sure and use them seperatley. They are all top of the line as far as a free HIPS program goes. And a HIPS program seems to be an essential layer of protection in today's internet world.

Pros- ST is a free program which offers a viable Realtime Shield against malware. That alone makes it a very nice product.

Cons- I have recently tested ST's HIPS component using the Spycar and Advanced Process termination tests and the results were that ST's HIPS performed poorly. These tests essentially try to terminate a program (ST's HIPS failed 7 of the 9) and try to change the autostart and IE Configuration (ST failed 14 of the 16 tests). These tests were done in several different formats: HIPS enabled/Realtime Shield disabled, HIPS disabled/Realtime Shield enabled, HIPS enabled/realtime Shield enabled. In all tests it did not matter whether HIPS were enabled or not as the same results occurred. The Realtime Shield component was the only defense against these mock malware tests.

Based on that I would suggest that ST still be used as the Realtime Shield is a very good layer of protection against malware. But useres should consider concurrently using another free HIPS program. I would suggest either Dynamic Security Agent, System Safety Monitor or Prosecurity. The combination of one of these free HIPS programs alongside the Realtime Shield of ST will provide much more security than the HIPS of ST.

Also, a few other things should be considered. ST still has a fairly high rate of false postive spyware found in scans. What has worked best for me is to use a multi-program defense in which I scan with other programs such as SuperAntiSpyware, AVG's anti-spyware and Ad-Aware. In this approach, I essentially only use ST for its Realtime Shield protection.

The ClamAV could be used as a #2 on-demand scanner for virus problems but it is not recommended, at its present state, as a full time scanner. There are free anti-virus programs that do a much better job. Those include AVG, Antivir and AOL's Active Virus Shield. Besides, ClamAV seems to be a bit heavy in resource usage to be ran all the time.

There still is the affiliation with Crawler. So users should maintain a heightened sense of skepticism with tis product. And Crawler still promotes it spyware products ascan be seen on crawler.com. And if you have any doubts about their continued affiliation just check out ther "contact" addresses. As of last look the two were still conducting business out of the same offices.

But that alone should not deter someone from using this product. The Realtime Shield is rare for a free product and I wholly recommend using that feature. Just don't put all your eggs in one basket thinking the spyware detection, ClamAV and HIPS are good enough for today's internet world. There are better free products that can be used for those tasks.

Well this is interesting. Could you three coordinate your reviews any better? Joining and posting about this product the same day as eyespyguy makes his post?

As for the file popping up for download, it is not supposed to happen when you click the link that is supposed to go to the publisher's website. If you all recommend for people to download files that pop up when it is supposed to direct a person to a website it's your own business. But it certainly is not recommended. Heck, you all (or one of you with several different screen names) make out like you are some sort of security experts, but claim it is alright to just download any file that pops up on a computer screen? That is rediculous. Especially when that link is supposed to take a person to a website.


For the remainder of your posts, people should just check out a google search and make up their own minds of whether they want to download the gadgetbar...or any other toolbar for that matter. Some key words to employ would be : conduit and effectivebrand.

Gathering some info from a google search of what an IE Menu Extension does would not hurt either.

Eyespyguy, (how appropriate a name) I'll respond to your post.

As for the issue of the file popping up for download when the gadgetbar website is attempted to be accessed-
the web site has changed since I posted my review. Now the gadgetbar is on "freewebs.com" which was not the case in the past. The file popping up for download when an attempt to access the gadgetbar site previously happened here, download.com and ieaddons.com. But that was when the URL was inspectorgadgets.ourtoolbar.com. If anyone tries that URL a pop up file will appear for download, just as it did before.

I applaud the effort to make the gadgetbar site accessible, even if from a free site host. But it is difficult to measure your sincerity when you cover up this previous issue by placing the blame on softpedia.com. The difficulty is heightened by your post claiming the toolbar to be clean. If you cannot believe the messenger it is hard to believe the message.


If the gadgetbar toolbar is no longer associated with effectivebrand.com then that should be mentioned. Otherwise, it is classified as spyware by Symantec ( Monitors activity and reports URLs visited to predetermined Web sites) and CA's PestPatrol ( First, Installs or updates without user permission or knowledge at time of installation. It came bundled with a variety of other pests. Second, Displays popup/popunder ads that are displayed when main product is not running or do not appear to be connected with the product. Third, Silently connects to an unintended location to transmit personal information.).

But you do not mention that gadgetbar is no longer associated with effectivebrand.com. Could the reason for you not mentioning the effectivebrand.com affiliation be the same reason you blame softpedia for the file pop up issue? That being deception. Which is what spyware is all about: to deceive a person into downloading something which is other than what it appears.

If you wish to post about gadgetbar being a clean download it would probably be best if you came with clean hands...and both above table. Perhaps you have pure intentions. Perhaps not. It does not help your cause by addressing past concerns by passing the blame to others. Nor does it help your cause by failing to mention gadgetbar's prior affiliation with effectivebrand.com.

Dropper virus included which has been confirmed by AVG. Scenicrelections screensavers have been removed from download.com because of virus and trojans included in the software. I notified Softpedia of the malware problems months ago but the warnings have been ignored.

Do not download this software.

This has all the makings of a scam. All the reviews here are of a similar writing style with very few posts. On Wilders a postive post was made in regard to this toolbar. It was the only post made by that person, none since.

The link to the web site will cause the file to pop up for download.

In other words STAY AWAY FROM THIS TOOLBAR !!!

The site of this program's developer states that Microsoft put pressure on his web master to have the program removed from public availability. The site is quite famous for testing firewalls: firewallleaktester.com and a link to the remove wga news can be found at that site or by adding /removewga_forbidden.htm to the site's URL.

This program is NOT free and is NOT freeware. There are constant reminders to buy the program, plus they offer a discount. But if you go to the site you can see the the "discount" price is the same as the regular, everyday price. How could a person ever trust a program with their sensitive files, information and such if the company uses deceptive advertising practices?

The program seemed unstable, as well.

This program seemed easy enough to set up. But I deleated it from my computer after my firewall started popping up warning messages that the program may be trying to access the internet. This seemed to happen when I was using Windows Media Player or tried to use Internet Explorer after opening File Lockbox. The firewall said this program may be hiding behind these and trying to access the internet. I am no computer expert by any means and this may have been some false alarm. But it was enough for me to delete the program, especially when I was going to keep important documents inside the Lockbox. The firewall I use is Comodo 2.3.6.81.