AnVir Task Manager Free 7.5

Overview

AnVir Task Manager is a powerful and feature-rich tool that gives you ultimate control over your PC or laptop. It comes free of charge and offers a rich plethora of Windows enhancement tools to help you optimize and protect your computer. It is a fully-fledged replacement for Windows Task Manager. However, truth be told, AnVir Task Manager does require some technical background of users; otherwise you run the risk to ‘optimize’ your system beyond repair.

Installation

The one big problem with AnVir Task Manager Free is that it has some bundles in the installer pack, so Comodo even marked it as malicious. Take care not to agree to install toolbars and other stuff you don’t need. The program itself certainly does not need any of these bundles to function normally.

The program requires 1 MB of free hard disk space, Intel Pentium 3, 500 MHz, 128 MB RAM and graphics mode of 800x600, as well as IE 6+.

Interface

The interface of AnVir Task Manager is straightforward and well organized, but suggests a learning curve. As you launch the program for the first time, you see a setup wizard that guides you through some basic setup options that affect how the program displays itself in your taskbar.

The tabs and buttons are self-descriptive but numerous. We strongly recommend you go through the video tutorial which opens up after the setup wizard is closed. The tutorial explains in great detail the contents of each tab and what you can do with it. The accent is also very pleasant.

Features

AnVir Task Manager actually comes in three editions: free, standard and Pro. The developer’s website has an extensive comparison table where all features are listed and compared for the three products. The free edition does:

• monitor processes, services and Internet connections
• monitors CPU, disk usage, memory usage, drivers, DLLs, locked files and windows
• has option to terminate processes that Windows Task Manager can’t terminate
• has tray icons for disk and CPU
• finds locked files and DLL
• logs start and stop processes
• checks files with more than 30 antivirus engines
• quarantines suspicious files and gives you an option to send the file for an antivirus check
• allows you move some start processes to delayed processes
• suspend and resume processes and threads
• offers a unique Tweaker module to customize hundreds of Windows settings
• keeps track of recently opened folders and launched programs
• it is compatible with most popular antivirus products

Pros

When you know what you are doing, AnVir Task Manager is a great Windows enhancement and optimization tool for savvy users. You can speed up your PC overall performance and Windows startup, as well as balance CPU usage, optimize memory and prioritize processes.

One valuable addition that makes this pack unique is the Tweaker, which gives you access to hundreds of Windows settings otherwise unavailable through Windows interface.

Cons

We would not recommend this tool to novice users. You will need to spend some time learning to understand what you are doing to your system before you get to it. Tweaking Windows registries, keys and processes requires understanding and technical vision. Other than that, we would suggest developers remove bundled software from the installation pack.

Alternatives