Yeah there are many utilities out there that can make it easy e.g. WinAVI etc. For me, I usually use the hardcore way:
1) Rip with DVD Decrypter
2) Extract audio using DGIndex. Can extract AC3 soundtrack.
3) Convert in MP3 using BeSweet. (Can use Audacity as well).
4) Import Video in VirtualDubMod. Adjust Brightness, contrast, crop the picture, sharpen it etc
5) Encode into DivX.