Advance Process Manager

This application offers a few useful tools beyond its main function, but we do have a number of complaints. In short, it might help to think of Advance Process Manager as a trumped-up version of Windows' built-in Task Manager. The program's clean-looking main window features a list of all processes running on your PC, while a pane to the right shows you basic information on each. Unfortunately, the application doesn't tell you whether a process is potentially harmful, so it won't help you ferret out spyware unless you know exactly what you're looking for. The utility lets you kill any running processes at any time, and you can password-protect other users from terminating programs (though they'll still be able to use the Task Manager to do so). We do like the System Info feature, which gives you in-depth data on things such as your processor, BIOS, and system drivers. Unfortunately, the app not only is slow to launch, but in our tests, it was rather sluggish to respond when we minimized it and returned to it later. It's also a bit dicey that the developer makes you enter personal information--such as your address and phone number--before you can use the demo. Experienced users might find Advance Process Manager a useful download, but other folks probably can find a more suitable option.