Similar to WhatsApp Messenger and Skype, Tango is primarily used on your PC to connect with Android and iPhone users. If your friends have Tango on their smartphones with data plans or Wi-Fi, you can call their phone for free without leaving your computer.

Tango's PC version interface is identical to the mobile version, with a default skin made to look like an iPhone. If that isn't to your preference, you can change this skin in the options.

Using Tango is simple. Add your phone number and the numbers of the friends you want to call. From there, you're just one simple click away from chatting.

Video and sound quality in Tango is impressive, although it might vary by device and connection. Tango's controls are also very simple. The options let you specify how you sort your contacts, let you set up the webcam, change Tango's skin and look for updates. Unfortunately, you can't do much more beyond that by way of customization.

With the ability to video and audio chat with friends' smartphones from the comfort of your PC, Tango is a welcome addition to communication apps.

Download Tango 1.6.14117 in Softonic

So, if you fancy turning yourself into an alien or a talking dog, CyberLink YouCam is probably for you. The application works with most major messaging clients, including Windows Live Messenger, Skype, Yahoo Messenger and AOL Instant Messenger.

All the effects included in CyberLink YouCam are organized in different tabs, and their results can be applied in real time. They include original backgrounds, all sorts of clipart and comic-like effects, hats and fake beards for yourself and even a free-hand drawing tool. Besides the fun part, CyberLink YouCam also includes a video surveillance utility that can help you keep control of your property without spending a fortune in a surveillance system.

The most recent release of CyberLink YouCam features the amazing augmented reality technology, thanks to which you can interact with 3D virtual objects in the video preview window. Thanks to the support for HD video and TrueTheater, the effects in CyberLink YouCam are more realistic than ever.

CyberLink YouCam is a fun tool that will spice up any web chat, although some of the effects are more realistic than others.

Download CyberLink YouCam 5.0.2219 in Softonic

MagicCamera turns your webcam into a fun device by adding all sorts of special effects and frames to the image that's currently showing on it. You can preview the webcam's image and test all the filters, effects, masks, backgrounds and animations included in MagicCamera in real time. They're all organized in tabs under the video preview, and can be applied with a simple mouse click.

The best thing about MagicCamera though is that it doesn't only work with real webcams. The program can emulate a virtual webcam which you can use to stream any other kind of video (a short movie, a photo slideshow or even the image of your own desktop) to your friends over IM.

MagicCamera works with all popular video chat-capable apps (Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, ICQ, Camfrog Video Chat, PalTalk, Skype, etc.) and is pretty straightforward. On the downside, I think the video preview is surprisingly low in quality (despite using a high-spec webcam with a Carl Zeiss lens), and some of the frames and animations included are a bit tacky.

MagicCamera makes your video chats more original and fun!

Download MagicCamera 6.4.0 in Softonic

Like the original app, Photo Booth for Windows 7 includes a selection of special effects you can apply to the image on your webcam in real time, and then take a picture of it. Once the picture appears in the camera roll at the bottom of the window, you can save it to the hard drive or share it on Facebook and Twitter straight away.

The good thing about Photo Booth for Windows 7 is that it doesn’t require installation and is very easy to set up. All you need is Adobe Flash Player and a webcam. Then you can start applying effects and taking snapshots of yourself and your friends posing for the webcam.

Though Photo Booth for Windows 7 lacks some features found in the original program – such as background effects, or being able to record video – it’s still one of the best Photo Booth clones for Windows you can find these days.

Photo Booth for Windows 7 is an easy, addictive app with which to have fun with your webcam.

Download Photo Booth for Windows 7 1.0 in Softonic

There are plenty of things to love about Skype for Windows 8, as it brings a full Skype experience to Windows 8.

You can perform audio and video calls, text, and instant message your friends. It's a shame that it doesn't integrate with Facebook like Microsoft's Messaging app so you can have all of your friends in one app. Still, what Skype for Windows 8 does, it does very well. Calls were loud and clear and video started up quickly, though the image looked a bit grainy.

The interface looks a bit sparse but it works well. Your recent calls, favorites, and contacts are all available from the home screen. You can change your Skype status on the top right. Skype for Windows 8 includes a bunch of fun, animated emoticons, which are sure to please emoji lovers.

Overall, Skype for Windows 8 provides a great video and messaging experience for Windows 8 users but could be improved with Facebook integration.

Download Skype for Windows 8 1.7.0.141 in Softonic

Special effects are categorized such by type ranging from wigs, sunglasses, hats, distortions, animals etc. The effects are not always well placed or positioned however and a watermark saying "manycam.com" appears permanently at the bottom of the screen.

You can also add things such as flags (although not many), the time and date or a text of your choice. The most fun part is changing the backgrounds however which range from a beach, pool or mountain to classic black or white and sepia. The effects don't exactly look realistic, but it's fun all the same.

If you get bored with the default effects included in ManyCam, there are plenty of others available on the developer site for free.

If you're just looking for a good laugh or a bit of online video fun, ManyCam is simple and easy to use.

Download ManyCam 3.0.91 in Softonic

Camfrog Video Chat sounds innocent enough and generally it is, although its a bit disconcerting when it asks you for your marital status as mandatory during registration! The Camfrog Video Chat interface is similar to that of an IM client with contacts listed down the right hand and a messaging box along the bottom. When you log in, you're asked whether you want to join the main Camfrog Video Chat room or a specific room such as Latino, LearnEnglish, Single and a special room for those using sign language.

When you log into a Camfrog forum room, the rules are made clear - "No disturbing the room with repeated text or spamming" and "No nudity or asking others to get nude", for example. The main Camfrog Video Chat room is chaos though. Because there are several people all communicating at once, all you see is a flurry of random messages between users. Click on a contact, and you can usually see their webcam (unless they are categorized as a "lurker" which means their webcam is paused for a while).

You can also hear Camfrog Video Chat conversations intermittently like you're tuning in and out of a radio. In general, the whole thing is quite confusing. It would be fine to have a one-on-one chat on Camfrog Video Chat but interacting with several different users at once is like trying to catch rain water. If nothing else, it's amusing just looking at people on their webcams who look equally confused as they stare at the Camfrog Video Chat messages scrolling past and scratch their heads. You also get the sense of a voyeur at times. It's quite odd to accidentally tune into a conversation between a guy who's explaining to his girlfriend that she and Camfrog Video Chat are the best things that ever happened to him!

The Camfrog Video Chat video and sound quality are pretty good and it's amazing how many people are online. It's much nicer to meet people "face-to-face" in this way rather than just chatting to them anonymously. It would be nicer to expand the size of the video but this is only available in the pro version. The same goes for seeing multiple videos at once. The overall Camfrog Video Chat interface looks a bit retro however - like MSN Messenger a few years ago - and feels a little bit cheap.

There are plenty of people online and Camfrog Video Chat has a lot of potential as a group collaboration tool. If you just want to meet friends though, you shouldn't have any problems if you persevere.

Download Camfrog Video Chat 6.5.269 in Softonic

But webcams are generally restricted to nothing but the image you see. However, with WebcamMax Full, you can add all manner of special effects and images to webcam images to make your broadcasts and webcam sessions more interesting. WebcamMax adds videos, pictures and effects to virtual/real Webcams and broadcasts on messenger services.

You can add videos, screenshots, pictures, flash and effects to virtual or real Webcams and messengers including the most popular IM clients such as ICQ, AIM, MSN, Camfrog, Skype, Paltalk, Yahoo, ANYwebcam and Stickam. You can also add special motion effects (Frame, Transform, and Emotion) over your webcam image. If you find that the program doesn't offer you enough effects, you can also download up to 1500 more from the developer's website. Apart from having fun, this program can enhance your YouTube videos or blogcasts by changing the background or environment from where you are broadcasting from.

Perhaps the most useful feature however doesn't relate to effects at all and relates to PinP (Picture in Picture). So for example, you want to talk about a certain part in a film with a friend or discuss it in a review, WebcamMax Full allows you to choose an alternative source which plays in the corner of your webcam in a smaller screen while you talk.

An interesting webcam tool which can be used for fun or more serious pursuits like picture in picture to get the most out of your webcam.

Download WebcamMax 7.7.4.2 in Softonic

What's really interesting about this app is that it includes a network server so that you can send images and viewing information from one PC to another which makes it an ideal monitoring device. There is a built-in motion detector which allows you to select which areas of the video are tested for motion, when, where and how. In this way, it allows you to target a specific part of your house or home without worrying about the consequences. The program also features video recording functions, picture capturing, external program execution, log file creation, sound playing, FTP transfer, email sending and there is also a scheduler. You can upload the images to an FTP server, a webpage or use a company LAN to distribute the images. Probably the only major problem is setting-up the software to work with your webcam - it doesn't seem particularly friendly with all webcams and you may not be able to get it up and running at the first attempt.

A useful webcam tool that doubles up as a security camera but may cause some problems during setup.

Download CamUniversal 4.8 in Softonic

No matter which webcam brand you use, MyCam will work with it right away. The program doesn’t need any special configuration – in fact, it doesn’t even need installation – and is really easy to use. Simply run the EXE file, let it connect with the camera and you’re ready to go.

The downside to being that simple is that MyCam hardly features any configuration settings. All you can do is choose between JPG or BMP for camera snapshots, and MPEG or AVI for videos, besides setting video quality and framerate.

Then again, if all you want to do is capture simple webcam videos and snapshots without all the rings and bells of other applications, MyCam is what you’re looking for.

MyCam is a very simple, easy-to-use tool that lets you record video and take snapshots with your webcam.

Download MyCam 1.1.0.1 in Softonic

The most basic feature of ArcSoft WebCam Companion is its capture mode, a function that allows you to take photo and video images with your webcam and save, email or print them. There is also an editing feature, but although it allows you to directly upload your videos to YouTube, its editing tools are nothing too amazing.

In terms of fun, ArcSoft WebCam Companion lets you morph yourself with a range of photos and apply fun frames to your image screen, although this feature was not working properly during our test. The masque function, as the morphing is called, is silly but entertaining, and if you get bored of the pre-selected images, you can always make your own template from any .JPEG image.

The monitoring function is one that sets ArcSoft WebCam Companion apart from it competitors. Setting up the feature is easy, and our tests in the Softonic office showed that it works. ArcSoft WebCam Companion keeps an extensive log of all activity detected and can chose notify you by email or FTP if it detects anything to be worried about. A single monitoring session can last for 18 hours, detecting motion, faces or both.

Although you can customize both individual modes and the program as a whole, I came away from ArcSoft WebCam Companion feeling that it didn't have quite as much flexibility and choice as that offered by its competitors. On the plus side, practical, fun and serious is a combination not offered by many and is something that has to stand in its favor.

ArcSoft WebCam Companion offers a good choice of functions, but still left me feeling flat.

Download ArcSoft WebCam Companion 3.0.0.117 in Softonic

YouCam and easily be the main photo and video application for your Windows 8 tablet. It launches quickly and has a ton of effects to mess around with. You can choose frames, video effects, photo effects, and distortion filters.

You can easily switch between taking photos and videos with the slider on the top right. Taking pictures is snappy and they show up immediately in the camera roll. YouCam allows you to add effects to photos and videos after they have been taken.

Other than all the silly photo and video effects, YouCam is pretty basic. There's an eye icon on the top left that allows you to "enhance" your image or video. I found that it just boosts the exposure.

Overall, YouCam is a simple, easy to use photo and video application that you can comfortably use as your default photo and video application on Windows 8. Its not as much of a copy of Apple's Photo booth as Photo Booth for Windows 7 and we appreciate YouCam trying to differentiate itself.

Although its effects are a bit gimmicky, its ease of use and snappy interface makes it a recommended program.

Download YouCam for Windows 8 in Softonic

If you have a webcam for your PC or laptop, then you can turn your computer into a barcode scanner. This is especially handy if you have a bunch of items that you want to catalog. One thing to note is that you will have to have a pretty decent webcam that can focus on items up close to scan.

Once you have bcWebCam installed, launch it and you're greeted with a brief tutorial. bcWebCam should be able to detect your webcam right away. If it doesn't show up, make sure the drivers are installed properly.

The main interface of bcWebCam is dominated by a live video window. While bcWebCam can't do much but extract barcode numbers, it can sit in the background to scan and extract barcode numbers into a text field. For example, if you want to scan a product into Amazon.com, have bcWebCam running in the background while your cursor selects the search bar. The data from the barcode will be inserted directly into the search field.

Overall, bcWebCam feels like a workaround to get barcode data into a text field. We wish it had an option to search popular sites with the barcode information instead of forcing the user to navigate themselves.

Download bcWebCam 2.1.0.3 in Softonic

If you're in need of surveillance software, or simply want a way to take advantage of recording and broadcasting video in real-time on a webcam you already own, Active WebCam is a tool you'll want to take a look at.

Active WebCam broadcasts video at a speed of up to 20 frames per second, live and from virtually any webcam you own. It's a great tool for surveillance, specifically because Active WebCam can sound an alarm or email you images whenever it detects motion in the area you're monitoring. This gives immediate notification that users will be able to take action on as soon as possible. Active WebCam is available to use on multiple webcams at once as well.

In addition, users can view the video recorded on any web browser. There's also no need to download any sort of plugin upon set up.

For beginners, Active WebCam offers a wizard that will help get your webcams set up. The configuration options are pretty diverse, and you can even create a webpage with customized colors and fonts where you can post the videos you've recorded.

Some users might not be impressed by the very plain-looking interface, unfortunately. There are also still some bugs that seem to need to be worked out, as Active WebCam freezes and crashes on occasion.

For Windows PC users who need a solid surveillance tool and already own a webcam, Active WebCam offers a respectable amount of options and tutorials to get you going.

Download Active WebCam 11.4 in Softonic

But the most interesting part of ArcSoft Magic-i Visual Effects is probably the special effects.

This means, of course, that you must have it running in the background while video-chatting.