Software Downloads Free

MUkoTE is a very specific app for a very concrete function: mute the sound of selected apps or windows temporarily.

Before you start wondering about the purpose of this action, remember Spotify. I’m sure you love the app, but wouldn’t you like to be able to mute Spotify’s sound automatically whenever there’s an ad? Think about MUkoTE again, and you’ll get it.

Yes, MUkoTE is the perfect app to mute those annoying ads. All you have to do is run the program and let it work in the background. Whenever you hear an ad on Spotify, double click MUkoTE’s icon in the system tray and the program will add the ad’s title to a list, and mute the sound. Then, whenever this ad plays again, MUkoTE will recognize it and mute it.

MUkoTE doesn’t really remove adds – just mutes the sound – and takes a while to configure. But for some people having a 20-second gap between songs from time to time might be a better choice than having to listen to annoying ads.

With MUkoTE you can automatically mute selected apps for certain periods of time.

Download MUkoTE 1.1 in Softonic

When you have multiple Twitter accounts, loads of followers and a ton of people following you, Twitter becomes difficult to manage. This is when you need a program like SharedMinds Desktop.

With SharedMinds Desktop you’ll be able to keep track of all the latest movements in your Twitter account. The program will let you check your timeline, view replies and direct messages, follow trending topics, search Twitter for specific keywords, etc.

SharedMinds Desktop supports multiple accounts and has a highly configurable interface that reminds me a bit of an email desktop client: tree-like folder structure on the left, list of messages displayed in the central panel, contents of selected message on the right.

Generally speaking, SharedMinds Desktop worked fine during our tests – though a bit cumbersome sometimes – and proved to be a handy way to manage multiple Twitter accounts, though unfortunately the interface doesn’t separate different accounts too clearly.

With SharedMinds Desktop you can manage multiple Twitter accounts and keep track of messages, followers and more.

Download SharedMinds Desktop 0.3.5 in Softonic

Mobile phones are more than just a device to call people. Nowadays most of them offer advanced media capabilities, like support for video playback.

If you want to make the most of your phone’s video support, you need a tool to convert your favorite videos to a mobile-friendly format. Icepine Free 3GP Video Converter can lend you a hand with this task; it’s a free, easy-to-use tool that converts most popular video formats to mobile video – namely MP4 and 3GP.

Icepine Free 3GP Video Converter features the classic converter interface, with a main window to add the video or videos you want to convert, a built-in player to preview it and a bottom area where you can select the target format and the folder to save the converted file to.

I’ve tried dozens of converters and I have to say that Icepine Free 3GP Video Converter has surprised me very positively. The program does what it says, is very easy to configure and converts videos really fast. Plus it’s got some advanced features you don’t usually find in other similar tools: support for watermarks and subtitles, ability to take a snapshot and support for trimming and merging video fragments.

Icepine Free 3GP Video Converter is a feature-rich video converter that’s been especially designed to convert videos for your mobile phone.

Download Icepine Free 3GP Video Converter 2.0 in Softonic

Do you have sensitive information on your computer that shouldn’t be seen by other people? Then you need a program like WinMend Folder Hidden.

With WinMend Folder Hidden you can easily hide selected files and folders on your hard drive or any other removable drive, and therefore make them invisible for any other person who uses your computer. The data will remain hidden for other programs as well, even if accessed from another operating system installed on the same computer.

WinMend Folder Hidden is really simple to use. Just launch the program and set up a password – the one required to make your data visible again. That’s all! There are no settings or configuration options, except for the ability to change the interface skin color.

WinMend Folder Hidden lets you hide selected files and folders in your computer so that no one can access them.

Download WinMend Folder Hidden 1.3.7 in Softonic

If you’re looking for a simple, hassle-free note taking tool, you’ve come to the right place.

CloudPad is exactly what you need: a dead simple notepad to jot down and store all those small notes you need to write on a daily basis. Tasks, reminders, an email address, a phone number… anything can go inside CloudPad.

Each note in CloudPad has three different fields (title, text and tags) and also a drop-down menu to select priority. You need to fill in all fields in order to save the note. CloudPad then lets you browse notes by category or priority, or search for a specific tool using the built-in search engine.

CloudPad is great for simple note taking, but more demanding users will find it a bit too basic: it doesn’t support images or links, it doesn’t have any export options and the interface is a bit confusing.

CloudPad is the perfect note taking tool, if you don’t need extra features.

Download CloudPad 0.7.3.19 in Softonic

Super Space Rogues is a fun 2D trading/shoot ‘em up game. It begins with your character owing a lot of money to an angry alien overlord, then deciding to try and pay up rather than face the consequences.

Using the WASD keys to move, and the mouse to aim, fire and interact, you must scour the universe for minerals to mine, and planets to sell what you’ve found. Most planets have a trading ship where you can sell minerals, as well as refuel, fix and upgrade your ship.

You need to make 50,000 credits, which wouldn’t be so hard, but space is full of pirates, and is a dangerous place to be. That means spending lots of your money on ship upgrades, and repairs whenever you can. There is no save game, and reaching your target might take a couple of hours. As a result, upgrading your armor and always being prepared for a fight with pirates is essential. Dying after an hour is very annoying!

It’s not just action though, and a lot of Super Space Rogues is actually quite relaxing. The game is accompanied by nice ambient music, and just exploring space can be quite hypnotic even if the graphics are pretty retro.

It’s a shame there’s no save game, but Super Space Rogues is still an enjoyable little arcade shooter.

Download Super Space Rogues 1.0.0 in Softonic

Cut & Paste is an animated puzzle game based on a flip book cartoon idea. Your job is to keep the main character from danger as he goes on a journey into a city.

The flip book is the key to Cut & Paste. Objects can be cut out of one page, and replaced later on to affect the action there. For example, you can pause before a dangerous animal, flick back through the flip book to cut out a big rock, and then paste it above the danger. When you restart time, the rock will crush your obstacle.

Cut & Paste is presented as if it’s a pencil drawing in an actual notebook, and it looks really cool. The controls are simple – Space Bar pauses time, so you can use the cursors to flip forward or back. Clicking an object will cut it from a page, and it’s stored in the Inventory accessed by the I key.

The puzzles are pretty logical, and sometimes there are messages that hint at the solutions. Not all objects can be cut from the page – those you can cut are a different shade from the rest. It’s a very linear journey, but fascinating, and you can deal with problems in different ways meaning there are lots of ways to complete the story.

Cut & Paste is a fun little puzzle game, mixing the hand made look of Crayon Physics with a unique flip book idea that works really well.

Download Cut & Paste Final Version in Softonic

If you’re serious about your editing, then gVim might well be the tool for you. This comprehensive portable app is a modified version of the Vi editor that comes with UNIX and is perfect for most user’s editing needs.

What gVim lacks in appearance, it makes up for in functionality. Although some more aesthetically-focused users might feel that it is a little ugly, it’s packed full of tools that will make editing, coding and programming a piece of cake. As well as the standard editing tools, gVim has a number of options that make using the application especially easy. The pop-out menus guarantee easy access, while the tiered interface makes working from multiple documents even easier.

Ultimately, gVim is suitable for any job that needs a text editor, but it does look a little intimidating and that could put prospective users off. It’s a powerful tool that you’ll need time to get used to, but if you put the effort in, you’ll be rewarded with an impressive – and free – editing tool. gVim comes bundled with another version of the program – gVim Easy – which is the same tool configured to make it simpler to use. This is perfect for users who need less power, or for those who want their first steps into gVim to be easy ones.

gVim: it’s called the “programmer’s editor” for a very good reason!

Download gVim 7.2 in Softonic

Twitter has become a great tool to communicate, and its increasing popularity has encouraged developers from around the globe to create all sorts of Twitter clients.

Yasst is the latest one to join the family. This Twitter desktop client lets you perform all the typical Twitter tasks (check your timeline, publish messages, view mentions and direct messages, retweet, reply and so on) without having to open the Twitter website all the time.

Some of the most outstanding features in Yasst are the support for multiple accounts, the ability to manage Twitter lists or the automatic URL shortening and photo uploading tools.

However, Yasst fell short of our expectations in many other aspects: it’s slow and unstable (it even crashed once), it has a very confusing interface (it took me a while to figure out how to display my two accounts at the same time) and features really ugly themes. Let’s hope these problems improve in future versions!

Yasst is a complete Twitter desktop client that unfortunately lacks stability and needs to improve its design.

Download Yasst 20100124 in Softonic

Hope is a short indie point-and-click adventure game. It tells the story of a boy who wakes up unsure of who he is, and a girl he sees.

This futuristic adventure is very short, but has an unusual atmosphere, and some puzzles that will get you scratching your head. The graphics have a nice hand-drawn feel to them, although they look very much like they’ve come from the Nineties.

There is little explanation of anything in Hope – if you’re up to speed with point-and-click adventures this won’t be a problem, but newcomers may feel lost. You interact with objects by clicking on them, moving the cursor to the top drops down a menu where you can save your progress and see/use any objects you have collected.

Hope doesn’t do anything new with the genre, and there is one particular puzzle which has a bizarre solution. The short story, too, is hardly original. Nevertheless, it’s done with some charm, and the soundtrack is very relaxing!

A short and sweet adventure set in a scary futuristic world, Hope will be enjoyed by sci-fi fans and adventure fans alike.

Download Hope 1.0 in Softonic

When it comes to searching for files on your computer, there are several options. But if you need to search inside documents, then you need a very specific tool such as DocFetcher.

With DocFetcher you can scan through documents stored on your computer and find words and sentences inside the text – not just in the file’s name. The program creates an index with selected folders and then lets you look through the contents of those folders, without having to open and search every single file individually.

Before using DocFetcher, you’ll need to pick the folder you want the program to index, by right clicking the Search Scope field on the left side of the interface. This indexing is not automatic, but can be easily updated by pressing F5. Plus you can use filters such as maximum size or file type to obtain better results.

DocFetcher supports all popular formats (DOC, HTML, TXT, PDF, PPT, XLS and many more) but unfortunately it didn’t seem to work with PDFs during our tests. The program has a built-in viewer to preview search results.

With DocFetcher you can search inside documents in a variety of formats.

Download DocFetcher 1.0.2 in Softonic

Tumblweed is a tiny Adobe Air-based desktop Tumblr app for Mac and PC.

Tumble exists somewhere between blogging and Twitter, encouraging short messages like Twitter, but also supporting so called rich media like images and video. Tumblr describes itself as a scrapbook for your thoughts, and Tumblweed has been developed with this in mind.

You can do all the creative parts of Tumblr in Tumblweed. Enter text, photos, quotes, links, chat, audio and video. These are in the apps only menu, along the top. They are marked with the first letter of their function, which is fine when you know, but not if you don’t, and there is no explanation if you hover over the buttons.

Clicking any of the menu buttons opens a small window – with photos you can simply drag them into the box, add a caption and post. Video requires an embed code, and so must be hosted elsewhere. It’s all very simple and works perfectly well.

The problem with Tumblweed is that it does a lot less than than the web app – you don’t get a feed of your friend’s posts and so can’t take part in any conversation. If you want to edit a post, tumbleweed will open you browser anyway, which slightly negates the purpose of having a desktop app altogether.

Despite these criticisms, if all you want to do is post stuff on Tumblr, there are no problems with Tumblweed, and it will no doubt get more features in the near future.

Download Tumblweed in Softonic

JDContextMenu adds some tools to the menu that appears when you right click on files or folders.

There are already many functions on the right-click context menu, but if you feel there are some essential missing abilities, give JDContextMenu a go. There are 12 features that this tiny app gives you, once installed.

You can copy the full or short name to clipboard, open the DOS command window, modify the file date-time stamp of a file, open a new folder, delete or clear a folder and much more.

The usefulness of JDContextMenu will depend on whether you want its additional functions. The clear folder tool is certainly good for use with download folders and so on, but the rest are a bit more specialized and its hard to imagine using them regularly. Another plus is that you can order the functions on the menu to suit your needs.

JDContextMenu adds 12 new functions to the context menu, but it doesn’t support 64-bit systems, and many settings changes require a system restart, which is inconvenient.

Download JDContextMenu 1.3 in Softonic

Do you want to make a logo but don’t know where to start? LogoSmartz is a easy way to get started, and ideal if you’re not confident with design.

LogoSmartz comes with lots of example logos divided by subject, which you can edit and personalize. This is the most simple way to create a logo, but if you’re a little more confident you can start from scratch. There’s a collection of clip art you can use, changing the color and size to suit your design.

The interface works with layers, so you create your logo step by step, and can always go back and edit objects when necessary. LogoSmartz is definitely aimed at beginners – Photoshop professionals will find it’s missing the complex tools in Adobe’s application. However, it’s much more accessible than Photoshop, and with some effort anyone will be able to create a logo to suite them.

The only problem with LogoSmartz is that it’s based in Flash – this means it uses more system resources than necessary, and more annoyingly that the right-click only activates the Flash menu. That may seem a small issue, but it makes the program less usable as it removes easy to reach features that most users will be used to seeing in the context menu.

Despite being made in Flash, LogoSmartz is an easy to use and flexible logo creator that anyone will be able to pick up and use.

Download Logosmartz 7.0 in Softonic

Games like Bioshock and Portal asked players some interesting questions about instructions in games – do we ever think about what we’re asked to do? Depict1 is a low-fi platform game that takes the idea of a menacing in-game helper to extremes.

Each short level requires you to reach a goal, as in most platform games, but the in game instructions are often misleading – even down to the controls! Essentially this is a puzzle platformer, and it goes out of its way to frustrate you! This actually makes the game quite funny, because you are made to feel the game doesn’t want you to play!

Some of the rooms are very tough, but you have infinite lives and they’re all short, so you’ll complete them eventually. Graphically, depict1 is very basic, as is the sound. The most annoying thing about the game is that you can’t skip the talking, or speed it up, and neither can you save.

Starting the game from the beginning repeatedly is pretty dull, which is a shame because each new level seems fresh and enjoyable. Once you know what to expect from the malicious ‘help’ in the game, there’s less reason to play it again.

While it has its problems, depict1 is a great concept and a lot of fun the first time you play it.

Download depict1 0.98 in Softonic

Keeping all your drivers up to date is essential for a good, reliable performance. But checking for new versions of each and every one of your drivers can be boring!

Luckily you can now count on DriverCure to take care of this lengthy task. With this app you can quickly scan your system and find any outdated drivers, either for software or hardware. Once the scan is finished, DriverCure displays a list on its interface and lets you select which drivers you’d like to update in a single mouse click.

DriverCure is very easy to use and doesn’t have any complicated configuration options. The program can be set to create a system restore point before installing any item – in case something goes wrong. However, I missed the ability to filter the scans in some way, or to be able at least to select between several different scanning modes.

Finally, bear in mind that the trial version of DriverCure doesn’t actually download or update any driver – it just finds outdated ones.

DriverCure is a fast, comfortable way to keep all your drivers up to date.

Download DriverCure 1.5 in Softonic

With Screenshot Uploader, you can make images of your desktop and instantly share them over the web.

To begin, you need to register an account so your images can be stored on the Screenshot Uploader website. In Config you can set a hot key to take a screenshot, and choose the quality of JPEG image you want. You can also save your images locally.

Hitting your hot key command will isolate wither the screen, or the window you are hovering over, and you can then select the area you want an image of. Once done, there’s a basic editor, where you can alter the size, and add arrows and more information. Then, simply clicking upload will save your screenshot on the web.

Screenshot Uploader is really easy to use, and is a very simple way to share images. However, the editor is limited, and and its a shame you can only save JPEG images.

With plenty of ways to share images on the internet, Screenshot Uploader has a lot of competition, but integrating uploading into taking screenshots certainly makes the process easy.

Download Screenshot Uploader 0.24 in Softonic

Puran Defrag Free Edition is the free version of Puran Defrag, an alternative defrag tool that helps you keep your hard drive in perfect shape.

Like its older brother, Puran Defrag Free Edition features a nicely designed interface with tabs for its different functions. The program can analyze and defrag local drives, networked drives and USB external drives, with support for boot defrags – which analyze and fix the computer’s boot file and ensure faster start-up times.

Like any other defrag tool, Puran Defrag Free Edition can slow down your system while working. You can actually run it while using your computer, but it’s better if you don’t. Plus Puran Defrag Free Edition includes a special feature that allows you to schedule defrags in specific moments when you’re not using the computer.

After testing it for only a while, it’s hard to say whether the program really had any impact on my system’s speed. What I can say is that it’s one of the fastest defrag tools I’ve seen, thanks to its PIOZR (’Puran Intelligent Optimize’) technology.

Keep your hard drive in perfect shape with this powerful, fast defrag tool.

Download Puran Defrag 7.0 Free Edition in Softonic

Mass Effect 2 could be the game of the decade, and it’s only just begun! This is a selection of 24 official wallpapers for your desktop.

Set in 2183, just after the end of the first Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 is a huge game, which sends players all over the universe involved in a real space-opera of a story that is just as dramatic as it is action packed.

These wallpapers are offered in four resolutions (1280×1024, 1600×1200, 1920×1080 and 1920×1200), so there’s sure to be one that fits your monitor. They show images from the sprawling action role playing game, from beautifully detailed space shots, to close-ups of the main characters, like Commander Shepard, Miranda Lawson, Grunt and Legion.

The quality of these wallpapers is very high, and if you’re a fan of the game, you’ll love the huge selection available.

Download Mass Effect 2 Wallpapers in Softonic

A diagram is often the best way to explain certain concepts or plan a complicated step-by-step process. Now with SimpleDiagrams, they’re easier than ever.

SimpleDiagrams is the kind of tool that is already perfectly described by its own name: a simple program to create diagrams. It requires Adobe AIR to work, but other than that, it’s a breeze to install and set up.

With SimpleDiagrams you’ll be able to create all sorts of diagrams in just a few minutes. The program includes a handful of ready-made shapes – conveniently organized in libraries – that you can simply drag and drop onto the diagram, as well as a few editing tools to draw, write, insert straight lights and move objects around.

Once the diagram is finished, SimpleDiagrams lets you save it as XML or PNG, or export it to your BaseCamp account. Too bad it doesn’t support more formats!

SimpleDiagrams is a really cute, simple app that lets you create diagrams in seconds.

Download SimpleDiagrams 1.0.19 in Softonic

Post-it notes are a great way to jog your memory about things you have to do during your day. However, if you work behind a computer all day, it makes sense to have a way of doing it on your desktop.

K-notes widget provides an alternative to Apple’s Stickies widget but adds a little more functionality. These include handy enhancements such as unlimited text size, re-sizeable text, collapsible notes and expandable notes (join multiple notes together). Like Apple’s own widget however, it also allows you to choose text font, text size and the sticky’s color. The only thing that should be clearer is how to delete notes. You have to hold down the Option key and waiting for black close dialog to appear which is a bit annoying.

k-notes widget is a useful tool for anyone that likes using sticky notes to help remember things.

Download k-notes widget 2.0 in Softonic

Tumblr Post is an add-on for Firefox that allows you to quickly post to your Tumblr account.

Sitting in the status bar, Tumblr Post’s icon won’t bother you unless you want to use it. Right clicking it will open a context menu where you can open your Tumblr dashboard, tumblelog or post directly. In settings you can add multiple Tumblr accounts if you want, and configure how Tumblr Post will work with different types of posts (image, audio and video etc).

This functionality would be enough to make Tumblr Post a great little add-on, but there’s more. You can drag images, selected text, links, audio files and more directly over the Tumblr Post icon, and they will be automatically added to your tumblelog. It’s almost too easy! This makes using the rich media(images, audio and video) capabilities of Tumblr incredibly fast and feels really natural.

If you use Tumblr, Tumblr Post is an essential add-on for Firefox, as it is such a capable, well designed application. After a little playing around, you’ll never look back.

Download Tumblr Post 1.14 in Softonic

If you’re a frequent traveler then one of the most important things you’ll need to check before you travel is the weather.

Chances are that wherever you are going, WeatherEye has it covered with over 5000 cities destinations included in its database. Results are collated from the Weather Network and all conditions are displayed in real time. WeatherEye provides short and long term weather forecasts, severe weather warnings and alerts and updated hourly forecasts. The widget allows forecasts of up to 5 days by clicking the “Short Term” tab and 10 days by clicking the “Long Term” tab. If you want to keep an eye on more than one city at a time, you can do that too.

If you want a slick and easy to use weather widget that covers a huge number of destinations, WeatherEye is a good choice.

Download WeatherEye 2.1.1 in Softonic

Why should you use separate programs to protect your computer from viruses and spyware, when you can use just one?

This is probably the idea behind the development of VIPRE, a convenient security tool that keeps your system safe from viruses and spyware, all in one. The program features a clear yet informative interface where you can check the system status at a glance. It’s also quite light on system resources compared to other similar apps.

VIPRE includes all the functions you would expect from a serious antivirus app: several scan modes, support for scheduled scans, automatic updates and so on. There are also extra features such as email protection and a handy virtualization system that enables you to test suspicious files in a sandbox to make sure they’re safe before running them on your system. VIPRE also has some additional security tools, namely a file eraser, a history cleaner and a PC explorer.

That said, I have to say that I found VIPRE a bit too simple in comparison with other antivirus tools I’ve tested. It may be perfect for notebooks or low-spec computers, but security freaks will surely miss having more filters and shields.

VIPRE is a simple, lightweight antivirus with real-time protection and email filter that also keeps you system safe from spyware.

Download VIPRE 3.1.2848 in Softonic

Watching videos on YouTube is fun, but sometimes you wish you could save the videos to your hard drive – something you can do with YouTube HD Transfer.

YouTube HD Transfer is an easy-to-use free app that enables you to download videos from YouTube in different formats and qualities in just a couple of clicks. Available formats and qualities depend on the video itself – not on the program – but they can range from low FLV to full high definition MP4 (at 1080p).

YouTube HD Transfer offers two ways to download videos: the first one is pasting the video URL directly from the YouTube website, and the second one is searching YouTube in the program’s Search tab. Either way, when you select a video you’ll also see related videos – just like on YouTube – but beware because browsing these related videos can be a bit confusing – you can’t go back to previous selected videos, like in your browser.

Once you find a video you like, simply select the appropriate format and click the Download button. The video will be downloaded to your hard drive right away. If you want to make sure that’s the video you want, simply use the Preview tab.

YouTube HD Transfer is a simple tool to download videos from YouTube in several formats and video qualities – including HD!

Download YouTube HD Transfer 1.0.294 in Softonic

When toolbars are done badly, they can be very annoying. When they’re done right, however, they can bring easily-accessed extra functionality to your browsing experience. Luckily for us, the Ask.com Toolbar is a good example of the latter.

The Ask.com Toolbar can be used with Firefox or Internet Explorer and on both is a slim, well-designed tool that fits in perfectly. The Ask icon on the far left is a direct link to the search website, or you can use the built-in search bar to locate information directly from within the toolbar. The small Ask.com Toolbar icons that takes up the rest of the bar allow you to customize your search immediately, limiting the results to Images, Weather, Dictionary, Thesaurus, Stocks or Blogs.

The Ask.com Toolbar also gives you handy access to page resizing and a Highlight function, but I have to admit that I couldn’t make this work during my tests. On the far right there are a limited number of configuration options, among them options to display recent searches or clear them when you exit the browser. Ask.com Toolbar isn’t revolutionary, but if you like the Ask search engine, it is a nice way of adding some subtle search power to your browsing experience.

The Ask.com Toolbar is a non-intrusive way of optimizing your searches.

Download Ask.com Toolbar 3.3.5.133 in Softonic

Do you like cars? Do you hate zombies? Zombie Driver is the game for you. A pseudo 3D overhead game set in a zombie apocalypse, you have to drive around the city saving survivors, while shooting, ramming and running over hordes of marauding zombies.

This Zombie Driver demo gives you two levels of zombie hit and run action. Starting with an unarmed taxi, the direction of your first survivors will be shown on screen. The journey will be littered with groups of zombies, which will splatter the road and your car with their blood as you mow through them. Each survivor location has a horde of zombies, circled red, which must be killed before the area is safe. The survivors will then get in your taxi, and you can take them to safety.

In between missions you can spend the money the Mayor of the city is paying your per zombie killed, and give your vehicle machine guns, nitro, armor and much more. In this Zombie Driver demo you’ll drive the taxi, and have one mission in an expensive sports car.

Zombie Driver’s controls are good, the sound is suitable, and the graphics are impressively detailed. Its not a serious game at all of course, and the arcade gameplay reflects this. The demo is very short, but enjoyable. It’s difficult to tell whether the full game will have enough variety to keep it interesting, or whether it will all be based around point to point driving, some killing and then back to base.

A gory, lighthearted game, Zombie Driver is great fun to play, and has a lot of potential.

Download Zombie Driver 1.0.6 in Softonic

If you’re already using avast! Antitivirus but think your computer needs more protection, consider switching to avast! Internet Security.

avast! Internet Security is a feature-rich security suite from the same developers of avast! that includes the popular free antivirus tool, together with a firewall and antispam filter. The suite’s interface is very similar to that of the antivirus, with a neat sidebar on the left with all the available options and tools, and clear, informative panes in the main area.

There’s not much to say about the antivirus module included in avast! Internet Security. It’s just the same engine as the original avast! Antivirus tool, including nine powerful shields to protect your file system, email, web browsing and network connections from viruses. It also includes the so called Behavior shield, a special monitor that warns you if it detects any suspicious behavior on your computer.

The firewall module included in avast! Internet Security detects network connections automatically, and lets you assign different security protocols to them according to their potential risk. You can define rules to allow or block programs and also create a list with “friend” networks.

As for the spam filter, avast! Internet Security helps you create “white” and “black” lists for allowed and blocked addresses, mark spam messages with certain wording in the subject and send them automatically to a specific folder. The program also includes a web filter to block certain sites – perfect to restrict the websites your kids can visit, for example.

It may not be the most complete security suite ever, but avast! Internet Security does an excellent job protecting your system from viruses, unauthorized access and spam.

Download avast! Internet Security 5.0.377 in Softonic

Viruses are not the only threat for your computer. Spyware is also a dangerous elements that you should avoid at all costs!

Luckily there are tools like SuperAntiSpyware Portable Scanner that make the job easier for you. As you can infer from its name, SuperAntiSpyware Portable Scanner is a portable app you can run from any removable device to find and remove spyware. It’s fast, efficient and really simple to use.

All you have to do is double click the executable file and select the area you want to scan (drives, memory, Registry, etc.). SuperAntiSpyware Portable Scanner looks for any suspicious element such as Trojans, dialers and adware, and lets you choose between putting them into quarantine or deleting them straight away.

That said, SuperAntiSpyware Portable Scanner has a couple of annoying features. First, it doesn’t have real-time protection; and second, this free version doesn’t support scheduled scans. However, being a portable version, SuperAntiSpyware Portable Scanner has an advantage over the standard desktop version: it doesn’t require installation, and can be stored and run anywhere.

With SuperAntiSpyware Portable Scanner you can easily scan removable devices and other drives in search of spyware, adware, dialers, Trojans and other threats.

Download SuperAntiSpyware Portable Scanner 4.33.1000 in Softonic

Trying to find a WiFi hotspot to connect your laptop or netbook can be quite a mission at times. With PdaNet though, you can ensure you can always get your computer connected – using your Android phone.

PdaNet lets you tether your computer to your phone’s Internet connection using your USB cable, and it’s really simple to set up. You just need to download and install the desktop client on your PC then follow the on-screen instructions. You may have to download driver software PdaNet doesn’t recognize your device.

Once you’re done, install the PdaNet mobile client on your Android. Then, connect your Android phone using the USB cable, and your computer should pick up the data connection from your phone and be able to piggyback on that. An icon will appear in your System Tray informing you of the connection status. From here you can alter the settings in PdaNet, which include auto-connecting when the cable is attached, showing network icon when connected, and using Google DNS.

I should point out that tethering your phone’s connection in the way that PdaNet permits is frowned upon by many network operators. So, if you have a contract then you should really check the terms and conditions of service before proceeding to use the app so you can avoid getting into any hot water with your provider.

All in all though, PdaNet offers a simple and reliable way of connecting your computer to the internet using your phone’s connection.

Download PdaNet 2.17 in Softonic

There are few applications more eagerly anticipated this year than Voddler. What Spotify has done for music fans, Voddler promises to do for film lovers and Softonic has been allowed an exclusive look at this Beta release of the Voddler client for Windows.

The good news is, you won’t be disappointed by it. Voddler provides stunning DVD quality images and sound and and a huge rapidly expanding collection of films and documentaries all for free. All you have to do is sit through about 5 minutes of adverts at the beginning to enjoy them. The bad news is: that you need an invite from Voddler to try it and it’s only being rolled-out in Sweden at the moment. A pan-European and North American release is scheduled within the year.

When you install Voddler, it takes you through a quick setup wizard which checks the suitability of your connection. The test takes a few minutes but if you’ve got a 2.5Mbit connection or more, you’re good to go. When Voddler launches for the first time, it goes straight into full-screen mode. I would prefer to have been prompted whether I wanted to open in windowed or full-screen mode but you can revert back to windowed mode (so that you can access the rest of your PC normally) by pressing [Windows]+F.

The first thing to note is that you can’t use your mouse when Voddler has started. Everything is controlled via the keyboard – mainly the cursor and Enter keys – which is a bit disorientating and awkward at first until you get used to it. The probable reason for this is that eventually, Voddler plans to launch a Voddler box which will attach to your TV and allow you to use it without a computer. However, I think it would still have made more sense to have allowed users on a computer to use a mouse.

Once you setup a profile and log-in, you are presented with three options in front of a scrolling background displaying iconic movie stills. The options are Settings, Movies and Quit. Use the left and right arrows to scroll through them. The Settings option simply allows you to resize the screen for your monitor. However, I found this part of the interface a little confusing. Drag each corner and the position of the subtitles, hit Enter to confirm each one when you’re happy. It would have been far more useful though if there was a way to see exactly how big, and where on the screen, an actual movie will look once you’ve finished.

When you click Movies, the fun begins. Movies are categorized by Premium, Recommended, Documentaries. Finally, Sort allows you to organize films Alphabetically, Most Viewed and Top Rated. Finally, if you scroll to the far right, you can change the View from Wall View to List View.

The choice of films and documentaries in Voddler is staggering. There’s enough free content to keep you going for a long time and if that’s not enough, there’s also a Premium service where you pay in the region of 3 dollars to watch a film ad-free. Free choices include offerings such as Airplane, Jackass Twopointfive and Trading Places. The odd thing is Premium films are aren’t exactly “hot-off the press” either. There is a definite lack of newer films but that will hopefully change as Voddler becomes more established. Each film also has a handy synopsis, trailer and average user rating.

When the film starts, you have to sit through about 5 minutes of adverts and usually a trailer just as in the cinema. Controlling the film can be done using the cursor keys and pause with the Spacebar. The streaming stability and sound quality of Voddler are outstanding – I didn’t experience a single blip during streaming of a movie. Finally, when you’ve finished the film, you’re asked to give a rating.

Voddler is a superb application which, like Spotify has done with music, is set to become the blueprint of how movies will be distributed online.

Download Voddler 1.1.0.4212 Beta in Softonic

Have you ever been embarrassed by an accidental wake-up chime when you switch on your laptop? Maybe you want to turn on your computer at night without disturbing people in your house.

Auto Mute is designed simply for this reason – install it, and it will mute any login, log out and shutdown sounds regardless of other settings in Windows, so you know your computer can be switched on in silence!

This is a tiny application, that you install and set to run at startup. It does exactly what it claims to do, and doesn’t get in the way of any other applications. It’s especially useful for laptops and netbooks with electronic volume controls. You’ll be able to turn them on in public places without drawing attention to yourself with a loud chime just because you forgot to reduce the volume before you powered down last.

You can define hot key commands to silence your computer whenever you want, and choose to mute sound when the screensaver appears.

Of course, you can turn off start up sounds in Windows settings, but if for some reason you don’t want to do that, Auto Mute is a neat little app that means you’ll never have to think about sounds again.

Download Auto Mute 2.5.0.25 in Softonic

Between dodgy files and dropped connections, getting videos from the internet can be a frustrating experience. Make things a little easier with a program like Flash Video Downloader, a low-effort app to help you grab videos from a host of internet video sites.

The Flash Video Downloader, as the name suggests, will download flash video from the sites supported by the tool. It works with a single click – you open the video from within the built-in browser, click the large Download button on the toolbar and the file will download immediately. The interface is simple and very easy to work with. Unusually, there are no configuration options for Flash Video Downloader. This does make things simpler, but might irritate users who prefer more control.

The lack of configuration options also means that the user is not able to modify Flash Video Downloader’s supported sites. As a number of adult video sites are included in the Video Website list, this makes the application unsuitable for certain users. I also noticed that Flash Video Downloader had a problem downloading from some of its listed sites and that as you are downloading from within the program, you cannot take advantage of any download accelerators you might have installed. This means that some users will find downloads a bit slow.

Flash Video Downloader is very easy to use, but wasn’t as problem-free as it seemed at first glance.

Download Flash Video Downloader 2.2.0.0 in Softonic

If the Start menu in Windows is not enough for you, you can try an alternative menu like Circle Dock to access your favorite programs.

Circle Dock is a circle-shaped menu that can be easily customized with direct shortcuts to your most frequently used programs and folders. Once installed on your system, you can quickly start adding new shortcuts by dragging and dropping them on the circle – though you’ll need to confirm a dialog window for each one.

The settings menu in Circle Dock includes a handful of options with which you can configure both the program’s appearance and behavior. That said, changing Circle Dock’s interface is a lengthy process; instead of changing every single element one by one, it would be easier to pick a skin that would change everything in one click.

Circle Dock can be easily displayed and hidden with customizable keyboard combinations, so that it stays out of the way when you don’t need it.

If you’re tired of the standard Start menu or Quick Launch menu in Windows, try Circle Dock instead: an alternative menu for your favorite apps.

Download Circle Dock 1.0.2.3 in Softonic

Testing a website in different web browser versions is a must for all web designers and developers. This is where Internet Explorer Collection comes in handy.

Just like the Mozilla Firefox Collection we’ve also reviewed, Internet Explorer Collection is a pack that includes several versions of the Internet Explorer browser, ranging from version 1.5 up to the most recent one, version 8.0. It also includes a special plug-in created for developers and web designers, the so-called Internet Explorer Developer Toolbar.

Thanks to this pack, webmasters and developers can easily check the result of their work in different Internet Explorer versions and make the necessary changes to their design or code. It’s also a fun tool to see how current pages would be seen on old web browsers – most of them won’t even work.

Internet Explorer Collection is very easy to install. You can pick exactly the browser versions you’re interested in, and then launch the same site in all of them at the same time – though I’d personally avoid this as it can be a real resource hogger.

With Internet Explorer Collection you can check how your website looks in different versions of Internet Explorer. Perfect for webmasters, developers and web designers!

Download Internet Explorer Collection 1.6.0.5 in Softonic

Lethal Application is a vertical shoot ‘em up with a difference – your hero can’t fly, but uses her extremely powerful gun to propel herself around, while also using it to kill.

Each stage of Lethal Application has you trying to reach the top. An electric bean slowly follows you, meaning you have to keep moving. Enemies come from above, too, which makes the game quite tricky to start with. You have to manage your flying and shooting with the same gun – to go up you have to fire down, while to take our enemies you’ll often have to do the opposite!

Lethal Application is a neat arcade game, with bright graphics and good sounds effects. Once you’re used to it, the control isn’t too hard, and it certainly makes a change. This is a semi-translated version, but there are parts (like the instructions) that are still in Japanese. Luckily, all you need to know is use the cursor keys to move, and Z to fire!

For a free shoot ‘em up, there’s loads of levels, and great boss fights too. These come complete with typically confusing Manga-style storylines, which add a layer of craziness to the over-the-top action.

While it’s lacking proper translation, Lethal Application is still a great little shoot ‘em up that offers hours of entertainment.

Download Lethal Application in Softonic

Vanity Remover is a simple cleaning application that searches for empty folders and deletes them.

Although it has an unusual name, this is actually a really useful tool – lots of programs and applications will leave folders littering your system when uninstalled. Browsing your directories can then become really awkward.

Run Vanity Remover, and the problem is solved. Simply drag in the folder or directory you want to clean and it will start the process. There are no options, and you can’t undo the process, but as it only removes empty folders, you can’t lose anything important!

Vanity Remover is a great way to quickly clean up your directories.

Download Vanity Remover 1.5 in Softonic

Are you an avid photo uploader on Facebook? If so, Bloom is going to save you loads of time.

Bloom is an easy-to-use app that connects with your Facebook account and enables you to upload photos in batches. All you have to do is give your new photo album a name and description, decide who can access its content and drag and drop the photos onto Bloom’s interface. The images will be automatically uploaded in no time!

But Bloom is not only about uploading. You can also use it to directly download your friends’ albums to your hard drive. Simply click the Friends button, select any friend and right click on the album you want to download. Note that this works only for albums created by your friends – not photos where your friends have been tagged.

Bloom also works great as Facebook photo viewer, both for your own albums and your friends’ pictures; double click on any thumbnail to see the corresponding photo in actual size, and use the filmstrip at the bottom to browse the whole album.

The only thing where Bloom is not that good at is in downloading single pictures. You need to open them in the program’s viewer, right click on them and select “Save Image”. It’s definitely a tool made to work with photos in batches.

Bloom is the perfect companion for the active Facebook photo browser and uploader. A real time saver!

Download Bloom 2.7.1 in Softonic

Testing a website in different browser versions is a must for all web designers and developers. This is where Mozilla Firefox Collection comes in handy.

Mozilla Firefox Collection is a pack that includes several versions of the Mozilla Firefox browser, ranging from version 2.0 up to the most recent one, version 3.6. It also includes a bunch of developer-oriented add-ons and plug-ins, such as Firebug and Web Developer. Even so, I still missed having version 1.5!

Thanks to this varied set of tools, webmasters and developers can easily check the result of their work in different versions of Firefox and make the necessary changes to their design or code.

Mozilla Firefox Collection is very easy to install. You can pick exactly the Firefox versions you’re interested in, and then launch the same site in all of them at the same time.

With Mozilla Firefox Collection you can check how your website looks in different versions of Firefox. Perfect for webmasters, developers and web designers!

Download Mozilla Firefox Collection 1.0.0.2 in Softonic

Forget about any prejudices, ditch any preconceived ideas: free anti-viruses can be as reliable and secure as any paid app!

A good example is PC Tools Antivirus, a tool that protects your system from the most common threats on the web, such as viruses, Trojans, worms and other undesirable creatures. And all of it for an unbeatable price!

Unlike other security tools that are tagged as “free” but then hide a bunch of limitations, PC Tools Antivirus is not crippled in any way. It scans your system and whenever it detects any danger, the program prompts you to disinfect, put into quarantine or actually delete all affected files. Plus, you can choose between three different scanning modes and also schedule automatic scans.

PC Tools Antivirus also includes a feature called IntelliGuard, which protects the computer’s file system, processes and memory in real time. This protection can be temporarily disabled when you need full system resources – for example, when you’re playing a game or encoding a video. However, it’s worth noting that PC Tools Antivirus is quite light on resources.

PC Tools Antivirus displays a nicely designed interface with big, bright buttons for the most common tasks and a wide range of configuration settings that enable you to tweak the program’s behavior.

PC Tools Antivirus is proof that free antivirus software can be just as reliable, efficient and safe as its paid rivals.

Download PC Tools AntiVirus Free Edition 6.1.0.25 in Softonic

If you love cooking, you probably enjoy browsing the net for new recipes. If you do, then Recipefox is the app for you!

Recipefox is a Firefox add-on that allows you to ‘grab’ recipes from various sources around the internet and export them, either to a text file or already formatted for Living Cookbook, Mastercook or Meal Master. When you find a recipe, you simply highlight the different parts – title, description, ingredients, etc. – and select the corresponding category from the drop-down list in the Recipefox toolbar.

The recipe will appear in the sidebar where you can edit and export. Recipefox has a surprising number of configuration options for an add-on, and you can specify everything from where the app should export the recipes to how to display measurements. Recipefox will detect whether or not you have Living Cookbook, Mastercook or Meal Master installed and warns you if you accidentally select the wrong one.

The Recipefox toolbar is quite discreet, but it cannot be disabled, as you need it to enter new recipes. Show the Sites brings up a selection of pre-chosen sites from which you can grab entire recipes, without specifying the different parts. You can modify this list, adding and deleting, although there are some slightly more advanced grabbing specifications that you’ll have to get to grips with first.

Recipefox is a fun addition for cooking fans, especially those who already use recipe software.

Download recipefox 0.35 in Softonic

Download TreeSize Professional 5.3.4 in Softonic

Backup copies are the kind of thing you always leave for later and then regret you didn’t create before. Don’t you think it’s time to put an end to this situation?

Ainvo Copy makes it easy for you. This app lets you create backup copies of all important files, including photos from your latest vacation, videos of your children or sensitive work documents. Backup copies can be scheduled and fully automated, and as they’re processed in the background, your work is not interrupted.

The interface in Ainvo Copy is clear and simple, with large buttons and uncomplicated menus. The lack of wizards of any kind – together with the fact that help is somewhat scarce – makes it a bit confusing at first though.

However Ainvo Copy is essentially an easy-to-use app: to create a new task, simply drag and drop the files you want to back up and then double click the task to configure its main settings.

Ainvo Copy creates backup copies of all important documents in the background. Make sure you schedule the task to run at least once a month!

Download Ainvo Copy 1.5.2.712 in Softonic

If you use Twitter or Facebook all the time, and don’t want to have them open in your browser all day, there are now a number of desktop clients dedicated to these services.

Like TweetDeck, Seesmic Desktop allows you to keep up to date with your Twitter and Facebook news feeds, and also lets you post to both. It’s still a beta product, so don’t expect a completed product. The interface is clean and self explanatory, with a navigation sidebar on the left, next to your Home feed, and then a window where you can place any specific feed you want, like your Facebook wall.

You can put multiple Twitter accounts into Seesmic Desktop, which is good for professional use. When posting messages, you can switch easily between accounts, although you can’t post to all at the same time (probably good for stopping spammers). There are buttons for adding shortened URLs or images to your tweets, which is actually a big improvement on the Twitter homepage.

Overall, Seesmic works very well. The downside of it is size – it’s not a compact application, and using Adobe Air makes it a bit heavy on resource. In terms of looks, Tweetdeck and AlertThingy are much cooler, although no more functional. It is also a shame you can’t turn off the Home feed, as it’s not that useful, or customize the appearance at all.

Seesmic Desktop is a capable Twitter and Facebook client, although it’s far from perfectly executed so far.

Download Seesmic Desktop 0.7 in Softonic

Seesmic is a popular Twitter desktop client, and Seesmic Look aims to build on that, and introduce newcomers to the joys of Twitter.

Built especially for Windows 7, although it runs on XP and Vista, Seesmic Look is a very attractive application. It is really flashy, with lots of animations and smooth interface transitions. That’s great, but if you’ve got an older PC, it will just look jerky and use too much memory.

Seesmic Look is meant to be a showcase for how useful Twitter can be. It opens by showing the current Twitter trends, which give you an overview of what’s going on. That may be useful for some people, but it’s not likely to win over skeptics, as popular trends on Twitter can often be a bit stupid!

However, it’s not all bad. Log in with your Twitter account, and you’ll be able to do all the normal Twitter things, but within a really attractive interface. The additions are more interesting – Seesmic Look will filter Twitter by subject, from politics to sport and culture, so you can follow real-time developments in your favorite areas.

Settings are a weak point. There’s a choice of two visual styles, and animations can be turned off, but the advanced settings are terrible, and there’s no user-friendly way to add to your favorite channels.

Seesmic Look tries to reinvent the way we use Twitter, but ends up being just another Twitter client.

Download Seesmic Look 0.9.0.58 in Softonic

BitWorld is a semi-3D dungeon exploration game. Take a wizard, knight or an archer on a journey to save your dwarf colony from an onslaught of monsters.

This simple, yet unusual game is presented in 3D, although the blocky characters are all two dimensional. There are two views, which you flick between with the Space bar. Combat only works horizontally, because neither you nor the monsters have any depth! Movement and fighting is simple, and explained in-game.

There is currently no end to BitWorld, but what is here is really fun. The characters have great bounce to them, and the conversations you’ll have are all lively and amusing. There’s an atmospheric chip-tunes soundtrack to go along with your exploration, which really makes the whole retro feel complete.

BitWorld is a cool idea, and it’s been generally well executed. The maps can get confusing, as they look samey, and it’s easy to get lost. The monsters aren’t very challenging either. Despite this, retro fans will love its style and charm. Let’s hope it gets an ending one day!

2.5D looks cool, and movement feels just right. This is an amusing and playable gaming experiment, which really needs a proper end!

Download BitWorld 1.0 in Softonic

Bittorrent and Gnutella might be hogging the headlines of the peer to peer (P2P) world, but close behind comes Ares, a successful P2P application that boasts of having its own decentralized network and a simple, quick access interface. Ares spun-off from Gnutella in 2002, and since then has been building a strong and dedicated community of users.

Installing Ares only takes a few minutes and the interface is simple enough that anybody will feel comfortable with it. The new version has a very sleek and dark interface, not unlike that of WMP 11. When you start Ares, it lets you auto scan your PC to find files you might like to share on the network. Beginners will be relieved to know that there is no complex configuration process involved. Once Ares is installed, all you need to do is select the search tab and type the name of the file you want to download. Once it appears, double click on it to begin downloading. You’ll be able to check its progress in the transfer tab. The recent update adds bittorrent support, opening Ares up to loads of new content.

If you enjoy exchanging words with other users, click on the chat tab and connect to one of the thousands of channels available. You can pick up tips on how to use Ares better, ask which files other users recommend or just chit chat about your life in general. You can even insert emoticons into your conversation and keep a list of your favorite chat channels.

Of all the P2P programs, Ares probably features the widest preview screen. You can set it to fit to screen or adjust it to your preference. This is a great way of making sure you’re downloading the right movie or to get a sneak peak at your downloads.

Unlike WinMX or FileNavigator, the two other spin-off Gnutella projects, Ares did not drop into obscurity and unites a flourishing community of users. However, the same old problems usually seem to arise. According to many Ares users the application suffers from constant connectivity troubles making it difficult to properly search for a file or to successfully complete downloads. Others will worry that Ares is a much smaller network than the globally used Gnutella and does not offer quite as much download sources.

Ares is an ambitious project, and the fact that it still remains standing while eDonkey has fallen at the hands of the RIAA, is characteristic of its reliability. Thanks to a strong community of users, a simple interface, a great preview page and multichat service, Ares remains a P2P application of choice for anybody interested into sharing files over the internet.

Download Ares 2.1.4 in Softonic

This is the review for the latest release of the most popular peer to peer filesharing application. Current LimeWire users will notice the radical redesign, bringing it aesthetically up to date.

Like Vuze before it, LimeWire appears to be encouraging legal downloads with the LimeWire Store. The library is so far a little limited compared to competitor download stores, but we expect this will expand.

Otherwise it’s business as usual on LimeWire, but with a much simplified and cleaner interface. Because it’s a new release, there are still some bugs, but the basic file sharing functions as well as ever. The new design makes scanning your search results much easier, and downloading files is totally intuitive.

The inbuilt player is still unintrusive and useful for checking audio and video files, but no more. LimeWire goes out of it’s way to check you are aware of the legal implications of illegal filesharing, on installation you have to agree no to infringe copyright, and if you download a file for which LimeWire can’t find a license you will be warned and can stop or continue at your discretion.

The friends function has been much improved. You can sign in with your Gmail, Jabber or LiveJournal accounts, and share files between any of your friends there who are also on LimeWire. This is much easier than tapping out IP addresses, and if enough of your friends use LimeWire, it could become great community sharing tool.

LimeWire searches remain within the P2P network, but you can open torrent files with it, and it functions very well as a torrent download client. This is not the most advertised feature of LimeWire, which may a way of keeping legal challenges at bay, but it’s a shame that you can’t search for torrents within the program.

The official release of LimeWire 5.0 makes for a much improved P2P experience.

Download LimeWire Basic 5.4.6 in Softonic

Download Automize 8.34 in Softonic

Cabos is a stripped down lightweight peer-to-peer file sharing application based on Limewire, which uses the Gnutella network (currently the 3rd biggest).

Cabos’ interface will be instantly recognizable to anyone who’s used Limewire before – you have your networks, downloads and uploads easy accessible on the left sidebar, above which sits the search bar and your current searches. The retouched Cabos interfaced looks simple yet modern, certainly an improvement over the aging appearance of earlier versions.

The results window allows you to order them by file type, artist, album, bitrate and so on. This 0.8 release features a nice new filtering system, that as well as filtering file types allows you to filter by keyword within your results, and four slides to further filter by size, bitrate speed and number of sources. This makes trawling through the sometimes odd results found in P2P searches much easier.

The Gnutella network is big enough that most people will be able to find anything they want in it, and while it may not be the fastest way to download, it’s fast enough. Limewire and the other big P2P programs are more advanced, but Cabos has the advantage of speed. Compared to most programs like this it loads much faster, and is less of a draw on your processor, so your other applications shouldn’t grind to a halt. That it’s totally free and features no adverts or requests to ‘go pro’ make it even more attractive.

Cabos is a highly recommendable lightweight P2P client.

Download Cabos 0.8.1 in Softonic