Yahoo! Toolbar Tabs and Anti-Spy

If you haven't tried the Yahoo! Toolbar for Internet Explorer yet, here are two good reasons why you should: tabs and anti-spyware.

I use Firefox and Opera, so I know they've had tabs forever, and Internet Explorer 7 does, too. But IE7 is still a Beta, and IE6, the default browser for most designers, has no tabs -- unless you install the Yahoo! Toolbar, which does a nice, trouble-free tabs implementation. Now if only Yahoo! tabs could be re-ordered by drag and drop!

As for Yahoo!'s Anti-Spy, it's a terrific bonus. Everyone should be running active anti-virus and anti-spy software -- Microsoft's Windows Live OneCare is an excellent choice for most users -- but everyone should also have a fall-back alternative. Yahoo!'s Anti-Spy, actually a free version of Guardian/Computer Associates' Pest Patrol, is a fast, easy-to-use, and frequently updated on-demand scanner that catches spyware others miss. As a second alternative, I recommend the highly-reviewed Spy Bot Search & Destroy.

Both features can be enabled or disabled at will.

P.S.  When installing the Yahoo! Toolbar, watch the options. It defaults to setting Yahoo! as your homepage and default search engine.