Driver Detective Review – Increase Computer Performance

Publisher: PC Drivers HeadQuarters

License: Free to try

Driver Detective is a useful utility developed and distributed by PC Drivers HeadQuarters, Inc.. The tool helps you keep all your hardware drivers updated with the latest and most compatible versions. Driver Detective claims to have access to 11 million device-related drivers, including 2.5 million manufacturer-specific drivers of companies such as Toshiba, Dell, Compaq, HP and so on.

Device drivers play a critical role in ensuring the smooth functioning of your computer. Every piece of hardware requires having its corresponding driver for the specific operating system installed on your computer.

How does Driver Detective help you?

Most hardware devices are shipped along with their respective device drivers, by the manufacturer. You will even find Microsoft Windows automatically detecting drivers of most common hardware through its plug and play features. Even with these provisions, it is still quite likely that you may have driver woes with Windows that result in symptoms like slow performance, blue screen errors, and problems in detecting hardware.

Driver Detective helps you keep your system updated with the latest and error-free drivers. Its user interface is simple and friendly, even for novice users.

System Requirements

Driver Detective needs a bare minimum processor speed of at least 200 MHz. The program recommends having 256 MB or higher of RAM, and 22 MB of hard disk space for the program to install and run.

Installing Driver Detective

The installer of Driver Detective is just 0.99 MB and can be quickly downloaded for free from here. The free download installs a trial version of the software that helps you test the scanning abilities of the utility. You may register for a full version license if you find the scan results impressive.  The trial version enables you to conduct a scan and see the results. To implement the updates shown in the result, you would require a full version.

After you have downloaded the installer, double-click the file to install Driver Detective on your system. Follow the screen instructions in the wizard to install the program within minutes.

Please note that Driver Detective needs .NET Framework 2.0 on your computer. If you don’t have it, the installation process will automatically download and install the software for you.

Driver Detective in Action

When you double-click the program icon and start the program, the first thing you will notice is a clear and clutter-free user interface with neatly arranged menu buttons. The startup screen of the program shows you a broad overview of your system hardware. The details include your system’s manufacturer and model details, system RAM, processor model, and most importantly – the BIOS version.

The startup screen also has a summary result of the last scan done your computer, if any, with a statistic showing the number of drivers which are up-to-date and those which aren’t.

You will also notice a section that provides news related to the drivers and hardware on your system, which is updated by a feed received from Driver HQ.  Last, but not least, you will see a  large blue “Scan Now” button. One click on this and Driver Detective zooms into action.

During the Scan

On clicking the “Scan Now” button, you are immediately led to the scanning window, where you see the status of the scan as it happens. The total process occurs in three stages.

1. Scanning your computer: Here your computer is scanned and surveyed in detail for all hardware installed on it, and any associated drivers. You will notice “traffic light” shaped icons indicating the status of the process, as well as a bar indicator showing progress of the scan.
2. Connecting to Driver HeadQuarters: The program connects to the Driver HeadQuarters database to check for any newer versions of drivers and the validity of those found installed on your computer. An interesting feature here is that the program and the database together take care of any updates in drivers from a large number of manufacturers.
3. Retrieving results: After comparing the version of drivers found on your computer with those available in the Driver HeadQuarters database, the program retrieves and compiles the final scan report. Apart from outdated drivers, the program also detects any erroneous drivers installed on your system, and suggests a fix for them in the report.

Driver Scan Report

At the end of the scan, the status of device drivers on your system is shown to you in an easily actionable format. On top of the screen, you will see a summary statistic of the scan.  Just below the Scan Summary, you will find the detailed status of drivers installed on your machine, with a legend indicating the status of the driver.

For drivers that do not exist and those which are outdated, you will find a link beside it to download the latest version from Driver HeadQuarters. There is also a facility beside each driver to know more details, or you can ask the Driver HeadQuarters customer care team about the specific driver.

Please note that, to download drivers through the program and take advantage of customer care services you will need to register and obtain a user license.

Additional Features

The Driver Detective database identifies products from certain popular manufacturers such as HP, Toshiba, and Dell. When you install Driver Detective on any one of these computers, then the very first time you open the tool, you are directly taken to a screen that enables you to select the exact model of your computer to ensure the most efficient detection of drivers on your computer.

Other Salient Features of Driver Detective:

Machine Intelligence: The program is intelligent enough to detect your system manufacturer and model, and download drivers specifically designed for the model.

Scan Technology: With years of experience, Driver Detective claims to have the most extensive database of drivers, with a highly evolved scanning technology.

Driver Backup: The program comes with a feature that lets you backup all the installed drivers on an external storage device, like CDROM, USB flash drive and even a network drive. This feature comes in handy for system recovery and Windows reinstalls. To backup your drivers, click the History icon at the top of the Driver Detective window.

Next select the drivers you want to backup and then click Next to launch the Driver Backup Wizard.

Integrated Customer Care: A highly responsive customer care is always at the disposal of Driver Detective users, to whom queries can be raised from within the program with a simple mouse-click.

Windows Vista Upgrade Wizard: The program has a module that helps users download the requisite drivers before they upgrade their system to Windows Vista.

Self updating software: Driver Detective users need not worry about upgrading the software and its database regularly. The database is updated meticulously at Driver HeadQuarters to which the program connects and does its tasks.

Conclusion

Managing computer hardware drivers and keeping them updated is as important as doing regular software maintenance. Keeping each device driver updated manually can be a humungous task considering the number of devices with multiple manufacturers. A reasonably priced solution like Driver Detective is a great since it automates the task of updating drivers to a great extent. The user interface and integrated customer support make it very easy to use for even beginner computer users. Click here to download now.

What Rogue Software is and How it Works

How Do You Identify Rogue Spyware?

Rogue spyware programs are questionable programs that NEVER protect your PC from spyware.  These programs create pop-up warnings alerting you of false-positive reports designed to scare you into purchasing protection software.

Generally, the following tactics are used on unsuspecting users.

False positive alerts – Users are warned that their computers are massively infected even though this is not true.

Similar looks – Rogue anti-spyware look like well-established and legitimate anti-spyware programs.

Pressure marketing – Users find themselves caught in a barrage of highly aggressive marketing campaigns urging them to purchase protection.

Poor scanning and reporting – When running a scan, rogue anti-spyware programs list results. However, these results are not specific and quite general in nature. You may also see that the program skips over files and folders to be scanned, when in fact, these files and folders should be scanned.

How Do You Know When You’re Infected?

Slowdown – Your computer slows down dramatically. Rebooting your PC takes longer than usual. Your internet connection is slower than usual.

New Desktop Shortcuts – Braviax.exe can change your desktop settings. You may be surprised to see shortcuts that you did not create.

New Homepage – Instead of getting your homepage, you may find yourself redirected to another site. This is another symptom of infection.

Pop-ups – You may find yourself bombarded with pop-ups. These pop-ups can show up whether you are online or offline. Clicking on these pop-up can lead to more spyware downloads.

How Do You Get Infected?

Knowing how you are infected with braviax.exe can prevent re-infection or infection with a different type of malware. Most likely you were infected if you used:

Freeware or shareware – Have you recently downloaded or used freeware or shareware? Freeware and shareware can often contain a virus, Trojan, adware or spyware.  Many have said that malware and adware are included in various freeware or shareware to help cover developers’ costs. More often than not, malware is inserted into freeware and shareware products to steal users’ financial and personal information.

Peer-to-Peer Software – Have you recently used Peer to peer (P2P) software? If you used one recently, this may be how you acquired braviax.exe.

Questionable websites – Some websites are created to phish for users’ information. Clicking on ads or banners may lead to a virus, Trojan, adware or other malware being downloaded to your PC.

Email – You may also get braviax.exe from an email attachment. They may even be downloaded into your computer by simply opening an email.

Open Ports – Programs like Yahoo Messenger and AOL Messenger have file sharing capabilities. If you share files this way, you are putting your computer at risk.

What Are EXE Errors?

Computer errors come in all sizes and shapes. They can be caused by different reasons but can be mainly classified into: hardware issues, software problems, human errors and external factors.

Out of these, software problems are the most common error encountered by users. At the same time, they are the ones which are relatively easy to solve if the right kind of knowledge and tools are applied. Therefore, it is wise to try and fix software problems yourself before handing your PC over to a computer shop. If you take the right approach, chances are that you will rarely need to spend money on solving software errors.

EXE files are very important for our computers. These files are written to accomplish a task when they are run. They make our computers what they are today – efficient and effective. Every software manufacturer uses EXE files extensively to make their programs work efficiently. When you work on your PC, hundreds of EXE files are working in tandem to follow your commands. Since computers are so dependent upon EXE files, any error can disrupt an application or operating system. EXE files are like any other file in a computer when it comes to their vulnerability to errors. The sheer number of these files increases the probability of an EXE problem.

Example of an EXE error message:

“Iexplore.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.”

What causes EXE errors?

Although EXE errors can be caused due to various reasons, some of the more popular reasons are:

1. Virus: This is the number one reason behind EXE errors. EXE files are soft targets for viruses as they allow the viruses to cause disruption in a computer just by infecting one file.
2. Spyware: Another type of malware which tries to monitor your internet behavior or steal your information. In order to do this, they attack EXE files and modify them to their advantage.
3. Conflicting EXE files: Many times, there is a conflict between two EXE files belonging to different software programs and it leads to EXE errors.
4. Corrupt or Broken EXE files: Some EXE files may become corrupt due to problems in the hard disk or windows registry. At times, files may become unusable while downloading from the internet due to a bad connection.

Methods to Fix EXE errors:

1. Clean your computer of all malware using reliable anti-virus and anti-spyware tools. Make it a weekly ritual to thoroughly scan your system to weed out potential threats.
2. Follow cautious computing techniques. See everything that is unknown or dubious with suspicion and stay away from them whether it is an email, a file, a website or software.
3. Make sure that your computer has a Firewall installed to keep malware and hackers away.
4. Use a good internet connection so that there are fewer instances of broken or corrupt EXE files that create problems.
5. Use a registry cleaner to root out errors that have made changes to your registry. In addition to fixing EXE errors, a registry cleaner can help you perform a complete PC error fix.

Understanding EXE Error Messages and How To Resolve Them

In the field of medicine it is said that if you diagnose a disease correctly, you have already done half the treatment. This is also true while solving problems associated with your computer. Unlike in the medical field though, you need not be an expert to find the cause of the problem. This is because your computer makes an attempt to communicate to you whenever it is having some kind of trouble. Mostly, this communication is in the form of computer error messages that are displayed whenever an error occurs.

Unfortunately, the communication that was designed to help solve the problem usually only aggravates the problem. Most error messages have the potential to scare you, confuse you, or do both at the same time. These messages may force you to interpret that the situation is worse than it actually is. This is particularly true of software-related errors, which most of the time, can be fixed within a few minutes.

Today, we are going to understand errors known as EXE errors and equip you with knowledge that will help you deal with them. An EXE problem can occur due to errors in EXE file or executable files. Every application uses EXE files to run codes that enable them to perform various tasks on your computer.

At any given time, there are hundreds of EXE files on your computer. These files make your operating system and all the applications on your system efficient and user-friendly. Because they are present in such large numbers, there is always a small possibility that something may go wrong.

Common examples of EXE Error Messages

1. iexplore exe error message – “ Iexplore.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.”
2. svchost exe error message – “Windows cannot find ‘c:/windows/system/programas/svchost.exe’. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again.”

Reasons behind EXE Errors

There can be several causes of EXE problems. Some of the most common causes are:

1. Virus and Spyware: EXE files are a favorite target of malicious software as this is the easiest way to disrupt the normal functioning of a computer. Some of the viruses even come disguised under the name of EXE files to lure you into downloading them by mistake.
2. Conflict between EXE files: There have been instances when executable files of two different programs do not like each other which leads to interference with the normal functioning of your computer
3. Broken or corrupt files: Sometimes during a download, the Internet may get disconnected and the files of the application may become corrupt or only a part of the file may be downloaded. These issues can also lead to EXE problems.

Tips to Prevent and Fix EXE Errors

1. Use only reliable anti-malware tools: You must install only the best quality anti-virus and anti-spyware tools. You must update their definitions regularly and perform a complete system scan every week.
2. Adopt good computing practices: Stay away from sources of malware such as dubious websites, attachments from unsolicited emails and freeware without credentials.
3. Remove unnecessary applications: The more applications you have on your PC, the greater the chances of conflict errors among EXE files. So, get rid of programs you do not need anymore.
4. Maintain your Windows registry: A good registry cleaner helps you repair many application errors including common EXE errors.

Tips To Avoid EXE Errors

The problem with outsourcing computer help is that you never get to know what went wrong or how to fix the problem on your own.

As a thumb rule, you must first try to ascertain the reason behind a computer problem. If you are able to verify that the problem is related to software or computer application, you must try and resolve it yourself before calling on an expert. This is the only durable solution to your computer problems and will not cost you any money and will make you more knowledgeable the next time you face a computer error.

One such type of software error that can be very irritating are EXE errors, or Executable File errors. Almost every user is familiar with this type of error and has most likely encountered it at some time. However, not many people are aware that EXE errors can be avoided to a large extent. In order to understand how to avoid and fix EXE errors, we must know what the causes them.

EXE errors come from Executable files which are a vital part of any software in today’s world. These files are used to accomplish a specified task like running a program at a click of a mouse. Since these files can run codes on your computer, they are immensely popular among software manufacturers. Any problem with these files has a huge damage potential and therefore, these errors cannot be ignored.

EXE files can encounter errors when they are infected, broken, corrupt or incompatible with other EXE files.

Some of the common EXE errors include:

1. iexplore.EXE application error“Iexplore.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.”The reason behind this application error is usually a spyware.
2. svchost.exe error “Windows cannot find ‘c:/windows/system/programas/svchost.exe’. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again.”This again is caused by malware infection, most probably a virus or a worm.
3. kernel exe errorThis is a core Windows file and problems with this file may occur due to many reasons such as corrupt software, malfunctioning hardware, malware infections and registry problems.

Tips to Avoid EXE Errors

1. Use malware prevention tools regularly, and always keep the definitions updated and use the latest version of these tools.
2. Do not connect to the internet or any other network without installing a firewall.
3. Never leave your PC connected to internet when you are not using it.
4. Stay away from dubious emails, fake websites, and unknown freeware.
5. Install a good quality Windows registry cleaner and use it regularly to scan and repair your registry.
6. Remove unnecessary programs from your system so that there are fewer chances of conflicts between files.

Common EXE Errors and Solutions

Computer problems are mystical in nature and seem to appear out of nowhere. They have an uncanny ability to pop-up when you least expect them to. For example, you are quietly surfing the internet and everything is going fine, when suddenly an error message pops-up on your computer screen saying “iexplore.exe has encountered a problem”.  You have no idea what did you do wrong or why this happened. You need not panic. This is one of the most common categories of computer application errors known as EXE errors in action and is known to often trouble computer users around the world.

So what are these EXE errors anyway? Can they be prevented? Do you need to seek the assistance of an expensive computer expert to resolve these problems or can you resolve EXE errors yourself? Given below is detailed information on EXE errors, including their origin, types of common EXE errors and their solutions so that next time you encounter them, you know exactly what to do.

EXE errors originate when there is some kind of problem related to EXE files or Executable files. These files are very important and make today’s computing fast and efficient. All software manufacturers use EXE files abundantly in their applications. The cumulative effect is that your computer has thousands of EXE files at any given point in time. Just like any other computer file, these files too can become infected, broken, corrupt or incompatible with each other. When any of this happens, it leads to EXE errors.

Let us examine some of the common EXE errors that often create problems for users:

1. iexplorer exe error“Iexplore.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.” This problem is usually caused when one or more of the spyware or virus is residing on your computer.
2. svchost exe error“Windows cannot find ‘c:/windows/system/programas/svchost.exe’. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again.” If you are getting this message, then it is highly likely that your PC is infected with viruses or Trojans. To find a svchost exe error fix, you must clean your system using a reliable anti-virus tool and follow it up with a registry cleaner.
3. rtvscan exe error“Rtvscan.exe – Application Error: The instruction at “0x77fcc8e1″ referenced memory at 0×00000000. The memory could not be written or read. Click OK to terminate the program, or cancel to debug the program.” This EXE file belongs to Norton Anti-virus and this problem occurs if you do not have Direct X 8.1 installed on your machine.
4. system 32 exe error“Cannot find C:\Windows\System32\System32.exe” If you receive this error message at computer start-up, your computer has been infected by a virus.

Steps to Fix EXE error

As observed in the above examples, one of the main causes of EXE error is malware. So you must follow the steps listed below to solve these types of EXE problems.

1. Always install the best and most efficient anti-virus and anti-spyware tools and use them regularly.
2. Install a Firewall to deter malware.
3. Stay safe by adopting cautious computing practices. For instance, stay away from unknown emails, attachments, dubious looking sites, freeware and so on.
4. Always clean your Windows registry regularly as most malware make changes in them and just using an anti-virus tool is not adequate enough to get rid of the problem.