Few can dispute the fact that Apple created a flawless product when it built the iPod. However, the company did omit to include one feature that still bothers me. The legally-aware developer made it so that you couldn't copy tunes from your iPod onto another computer. OK, so it means everything is above board, but it also means that if you get a new computer or your hard drive fails, you have to build up your MP3 collection all over again. Luckily, there are now several programs available that let you copy your iPod tunes to any machine, and CopyTrans is a good example of one of these.

The process of synchronising your music with CopyTrans is a simple one and you can choose to archive your collection or import it into a new iTunes library. All you need to do is connect your iPod, wait for the program to scan the device, choose your transfer settings then wait for CopyTrans to work its magic.

It does take quite a long time to copy across the music, but the operation works very well and I experienced no problems other than that it didn't reproduce all of the album art I had. The program boasts some nice features such as selective transfers, incremental back-ups, and repair to damaged iPod databases.

If you're scared of losing all your iPod data then install CopyTrans and erase your worries with ease.

Download CopyTrans 2.590 in Softonic

RemoveIT is a free trojan, adware and spyware scanner that searches and destroys dangerous viruses, trojans and spyware.

However, the effectiveness of it is open to debate. The developers claim that it's so good, it "locates and removes many new dangerous files including spyware, malware, virus, worms, trojans and adware that other popular AV programs do not find." This program therefore is NOT a real-time scanner - it's based on cleaning-up after something has installed itself on your PC rather than real-time protection which I always think is a dangerous approach.

There's nothing flashy about this program - the interface is based on Windows Explorer shell which also includes a slightly more advanced and expanded version of Windows Task Manager (to stop and block illegal processes) and the same with a Service Manager which gives you an overview of the services and program currently running on your PC. With these tools, you have more control over what runs on your PC both during startup and day-to-day operation. The Services Manager is recommended for beginners as you can see clearly the actual names of the programs running while the Process Manager only shows those files that are running as parts of programs and as a result, you may shut something down that you didn't mean to.

For a free and light malware scanner, this is a solid program although it does not seem to detect anything that other scanners (such as Ad-Aware) can't so it's maybe not as effective as the developers claim.

Download RemoveIT Pro 4 SE 25.9.2008 in Softonic

If you're constantly working between your phone and your PC, then you'll need to make sure that both are in perfect sync. WinFonie Mobile helps you do exactly that by synchronizing contacts, appointments, and tasks between Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express. It also works with Tobit David, Lotus Notes, Lotus Organizer, Palm Desktop, Combit address manager according to the developers.

As soon as data is updated in your PC or mobile phone, WinFonie Mobile automatically detects the change and synchronizes. The good thing about this program is that, if you're not happy with the results of the synchronisation or if your files have been synced badly, you can preview them before accepting. What I also liked is that synchronisation is swift and detection immediate. However, I did find that WinFonie Mobile's access to Outlook was blocked by an a virus scanner I have installed in Outlook. I had to remove the program first before I could sync successfully so if you have any Outlook security add-ons installed, be aware that it might conflict with this program.

Download WinFonie Mobile 2.1.4.6 in Softonic

Librarian Pro is a very flexible application to organize all your books, movies, games or whatever you wish to keep a list of. Although the program still feels quite unstable (importing or exporting didn't work properly for me), we'll let that go for now as the program is still a pre-release. What makes Librarian Pro interesting is how easy it is to view your list and create new smart collections.

You can customize the layout of lists you export and send them to the web or to your iPod. Librarian can also import elements from mulitple sources, like borrowers from your Address Book or item information from a number of sites. You can view your Amazon cart from the application and even retrieve things like album covers.

Librarian Pro is a great program to keep updated lists of your favorite items and always be aware of who's borrowed what from you.

Download Librarian Pro 1.3.3 in Softonic

Anyone with kids worries about what they might be exposed to on the Internet. To protect them you need to make sure you can monitor their usage of both the internet and the computer. Net Nanny is a parental control tool built to help you do this.

First things first, Net Nanny lets you block inconvenient material such as adult sites, violence or drug related websites. In all there are 31 categories of sensitive material that you can choose to block or not. Net Nanny also integrates Safe Search, a feature which works with most search engines like Yahoo! or Google.

Net Nanny also lets you set time restrictions and decide when your computer is blocked. You can also put limits on games played on internet by your kids.

The best way to use Net Nanny is probably to create profiles for each of your kids and set filters, different login types and passwords for each of them.

Net Nanny will also generate reports of login and usage and keep you aware of any attempts at accessing restricted material.

Although the installation is a little lengthy, Net Nanny will give you good control over what your children can access on your computer.

Download Net Nanny Parental Controls 5.6 in Softonic

With SkypeCap you are able to record microphone audio chatting and moreover, the most interesting part - webcam real-time Skype video. Your partner won't be aware his/her video and audio session being captured by SkypeCap.

How does it work? Just launch and login to Skype. Launch SkypeCap. Status bars will let you know If SkypeCap is conected with Skype and it is ready for video and audio capturing. Choose an output directory.

Make a call to any of your friends from Contact list. Begin audio or video session. Now SkypeCap is ready to capture or it is already capturing audio or video (with audio) if you set it for automatical beginning. So now, everything what you see or hear by Skype is recording as you see it. You can also capture audio chatting in Skype-out mode. You can make a call to any of your friends cell phone or office number and start recording and saving it.

Download SkypeCap 2.3.3 in Softonic

I don't know about you, but I quickly grow tired of a Windows appearance. This is why I was happy to find MyColors, a simple theme manager with which you can completely customize the way Windows looks.

MyColors is another product from the Stardock company, which seems to have specialized in customizing software. MyColors features a sleek interface divided into several tabs, from which you can manage your themes, adjust the program's settings and select the wallpaper, among other options.

MyColors includes a few themes and allows you to easily download a few more from the Stardock website. Be aware though that only a few of them are free, while the most attractive ones are only available after paying 20 bucks.

The best thing about MyColors is how easy it is to install new themes. Simply click on the "Apply" button and wait for it to complete the process. Also, going back to Windows standard appearance is as easy as re-installing the Windows standard theme from MyColors.

If you'd like to give Windows a completely new look, you should give MyColors a go, although the theme selection is not precisely very wide.

Download MyColors in Softonic

Perspective is one of those areas of photography that is impossible to avoid and which can sometimes cause problems. If you take a lot of pictures of buildings, streets or urban skylines then you'll only be too aware of the way that perspective can distort an object in the foreground, making it appear that it's leaning at an angle rather than standing straight. Perspective Pilot is designed to rid you of these worries by allowing you to quickly correct images that have been skewed in this way.

Using the program is very easy. You simply load an image into the program and draw a vertical line across the area you want to correct. Then, the program automatically adjusts the picture to make buildings straight. You can also use it to correct horizontal distortion. Perspective Pilot works very well in most cases, although if you've used a filter, such as a fish eye lens, to take your shots then the program struggles to achieve anything.

Download Perspective Pilot 2.0.7 in Softonic

Keeping track of your latest podcasts is a full time job especially if you're subscribed to several at once.

If you want to organise, capture and of course listen to your favourite podcasts, but are busy when they are scheduled, Juice (formerly known as iPodder) could be your solution. Juice allows users to capture and listen to Internet audio programs at anytime for listening at a time more convenient to them - it's kind of like a VCR but for podcasts.

Juice enables you to select and download shows and music and to play them whenever you are ready on your iPods, portable media players or PC. Juice is completely free to use and supports a range of external media players (although not all) and Juice can even help you discover new music with hundreds of podcast feeds you might not be aware of or have heard about (although most are American based). It's the organisation of your podcasts and highlighting of what you've listened to and transferred however that's most useful in Juice. Plus of course the fact that you'll never miss a podcast again.

Juice is an easy to use podcast organiser and scheduler that takes the stress out of keeping up and planning when to listen to your podcasts.

Download Juice (iPodder) 2.2 in Softonic

eMule Morph is a modification of eMule with some interesting functionalities and cool graphics. Be aware though that if you are happy with the performance of your eMule you should think it through before downloading this version.

Download eMule MorphXT 0.49a in Softonic

A smart freeware program that can clear all forms of mal-ware from your computer. Spybot S&D is a powerful application that offers a default mode and an advanced mode.

When you install this program, you are immediately given the choice to update, which is of course all important when dealing with the various forms of spyware that you want to be protected from. Unfortunately, when updating, progress can seem rapid and then stop for no apparent reason, for several minutes before finishing off the job.

Once you get over that small hiccup, you are prompted to create a system backup, just in case the program happens to remove something that is actually quite important for the smooth running of your system. It should go without saying that making this backup is recommended after which you may finally immunize your system from a growing database of malicious processes.

The program has plenty of options for tweaking and customizing scans as well as some unrelated functions like the secure shredder and a start-up manager.

Although this is a powerful piece of anti-spyware software, it may be better to see it as part of your security solution. For example, team this up with Ad-Aware SE and you should be covered from practically every form of threat to your online safety.

Download SpyBot Search & Destroy 1.6.0 in Softonic

Backups are increasingly important in an age of huge hard drives and large amounts of data that if lost, could be disasterous.

You can automate backups of your important data, files and folders to be saved immediately into ZIP format. The advantage of this is that you don't need any special software to unzip backups - simply use WinZip or WinRAR. Alternatively, the program supports the backing up of files to a remote location via FTP or options to Email it to your mail server. You can schedule backups so you don't need to worry about remembering to backup your more important data. The danger of this is that if the backup fails, you may not be made aware of the problem. Fortunately, the program e-mails you if this happens so you don't have to worry about bad or half done backups. You can change the date and time of filenames for archiving plus also copy files and directories using wildcards on schedule. This is useful if you need to specifiy a specific date for a backup that has to be performed on the same date or day every week or month.

Scheduled backups and compressed output files that can be opened in any ZIP application, JaBack is a solid backup solution.

Download JaBack 8.04 in Softonic

If you would like to know more about what yoga is, you can download this application which, although not very comprehensive, will provide an introduction to the discipline. You can get information about yoga traditions, instruction, articles, asanas, which are body position, and the sun salutation via the six chapters on the left side of the main frame.

The navigation of this e-book is not extremely pleasant, but I liked the idea of the progressive photos to explain how to properly execute the sun salutation. It would have been good to have the same type of images for all the asanas named in the previous chapter.

If you are interested by yoga and would like to read articles on the discipline and its history, give Yoga Freeware a try and practice the sun salutation to begin with.

Download Yoga freeware 3.3 in Softonic

Cropping videos can be useful for all kinds of reasons - for removing an awkward frame in a video to reducing the amount of space they take up on your hard drive.

With VidCrop, you can remove useless frames, zoom-in on a particular area and select those aspects that you want to change remarkably easily. You can remove useless frames, zoom in as far as your resolution will allow and add information in text format about yourself and your video. The program uses a framebar and a frame preview for cropping. The framebar allows you to choose the video from the first frame to the last and at the same time, allows you to preview what you've created so you can have an idea of what it will look like when you save it. The program supports a wide range of formats although be aware that you have to ensure that the correct codecs are installed for them all to work properly. Generally speaking, this means codecs and compatibility with avi, asf, mp4, mpg, mpeg, mov, wmv and other formats.
The editing process is very simple although for some reason, the program doesn't give you control over the compression ratio it uses or the bitrate that the audio is played at.

Nevertheless, VidCrop has a very simple and user friendly interface that will allow you to do crop and chop to your heart's content.

Download VidCrop 1.3 in Softonic

Ad-Aware is one of the most popular anti-spyware tools, with millions of downloads worldwide, and I bet this number will be increased with the release of Ad-Aware 2008.

Though the interface in itself hasn't changed that much, the new Ad-Aware 2008 includes a few interesting enhancements such as a noticeable improvement in stability and performance, which makes the program a lot lighter on system resources. The rootkit and threat detection tools have also been enhanced for a more efficient protection, together with an all new integrated anti-virus functionality.

Ad-Aware is very easy to install and use, especially if you've been using the previous version, because the program features a similar design. It's constantly updated with new definitions, so that you keep up with the latest online threats and also includes a system restoration point to help you recover your system from a virus or Trojan attack. I especially liked the fact that Ad-Aware supports multiple browsers, which enables you to manage web browsing traces and control your privacy online in Internet Explorer, Firefox and Opera.

The program still keeps some functions as exclusive to the Pro and Plus versions (like the customizable scans or the real-time monitor) but still, Ad-Aware 2008 Free is a reliable, effective anti-malware tool that will keep your system safe and sound without disturbing your daily workflow.

Ad-Aware 2008 features an excellent package of security tools with which you can efficiently protect your PC from virus, Trojans, spyware and other undesirable elements.

Download Ad-Aware 2008 7.1.0.8 Free in Softonic

There's only a week left until Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull hits cinemas worldwide, a moment all true Indy fans like me have been desperately waiting for. If you're also among them, let me show you a trick to relieve your Indiana Jones anxiety: play the videogame!

LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures is an original mix-up of the three previous Indy movies (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade), turned into a fun 3D platform adventure with some mind-twisting puzzles and a very unusual element: it's all made of Lego blocks.

This means that all characters, enemies and objects you'll find along the game are Lego style, which sometimes makes the game simply hilarious. You can for example build necessary elements - such a bridge to cross over a gap - out of a bunch of Lego pieces. Also, when you kill enemies or destroy objects with your whip, they're all torn down to Lego blocks. Backgrounds are the only thing in the game that don't follow the Lego style and have been created in a 3D style instead.

Despite being made of Lego, Indy is quick and agile. You can jump from one platform to another, fly over deep cliffs with your whip and avoid all sorts of obstacles quite easily. What's more, the game lets you carry two simultaneous characters (Indy and his friend) and change between them at any time, depending on what you need to do (remember: Indy doesn't have a shovel, but his friend does!).

Be aware though that the game is not just about jumping platforms and using your whip like Tarzan's vines. You'll have to solve various riddles and puzzles in order to gain access to certain areas during your adventures. The game's also quite easy to control, even if you're not very skillful with platforms, though I missed having a bit more control over the camera.

LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures is an hilarious 3D platform game which will let any Indy fan relive the most famous movie scenes featuring their favorite archaeologist.

Download LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures Demo in Softonic

Do you like sudokus? These madly addictive puzzles used to be very popular a while ago and still remain a great pastime for people of all ages.

Emjysoft Sudoku lets you play and enjoy sudokus in your computer. Thanks to its sudoku generator, you can have a different puzzle anytime you want and never spend money buying sudoku magazines again. Emjysoft Sudoku can create sudokus in three different levels, but be aware: the difficulty is all mixed up, which means that what the program calls "hard level" is actually the easy one. For a more challenging puzzle, the game lets you set a time limit.

Besides this minor flaw, Emjysoft Sudoku provides hours of entertainment and it's also a fun way to have some brain training. In case you get stuck, you can ask the program to show the solution, and there's also an option to print the sudoku and take it with you.

Emjysoft Sudoku lets you have fun and improve your brain agility with sudokus in different difficulty levels.

Download Emjysoft Sudoku 2.00 in Softonic

If you're throwing a party at home and would like to have some nice background music without having to pay an expensive DJ, this tool is what you need.

Zulu DJ is a free music mixing app that will enable you to perform as a professional DJ by yourself, just with the help of your computer and using your favorite songs. To be honest, the program is not the most complete DJ tool I've ever seen (meaning, don't expect it to be remotely similar to Virtual DJ, for example). However Zulu DJ is an excellent choice for beginners and DJ newbies who prefer an easy-to-use tool to a feature-ridden mixer that they can hardly use at all.

The program includes two main tracks to load the songs you want to mix, plus a series of sound effects you can apply on the go. It works with MP3 – among other formats - and supports drag-and-dropping of files, which makes it really handy. I especially liked the automatic BPM synchronization and the possibility to "preview" a song only through earphones before actually mixing it with the one on air. Just be aware that Zulu DJ is meant to mix music live and does not record your mixes.

With Zulu DJ you can give your first steps as DJ and easily mix your favorite songs. It may however fall short of expectations for more experienced DJs.

Download Zulu DJ 1.00 in Softonic

As you're probably aware by now, there are lots of great web sites out there and loads of online content that can educate and enrich your life. Sometimes though accessing information online can be bad for your computer's health if the sites you visit contain or link to spyware, adware, spam and viruses.

Running Web Security Guard is like having your own personal digital bodyguard, warning you when the sites you visit might be dangerous and protecting you accordingly. On the face of it the program is just another toolbar in your browser, albeit a comprehensive one. You get lots of useful tools such as a multisearch, eBay search, travel pages, yellow pages, white pages, games, and so on.

You can also bolt on lots of common desktop tasks and applications such as an MP3 player, RSS reader, screensaver, weather information, word-checkers, evidence eliminators and pop-up blockers, making it a pretty comprehensive system.

However, where this program differs from most other browser toolbars is in its security features. The program uses a range of clever methods to help ensure that you stay safe when surfing the web. It offers customer reviews of sites and provides you with a description and threat rating of each site you visit, although these constant notifications can get annoying after a while.

If you're the kind of person who worries about the security of web sites then be sure to install Web Security Guard for complete peace of mind.

Download Web Security Guard 5.1.0.99 in Softonic

Most of my friends are replacing their old CTR television sets with brand-new flat screens, but I don't think I'll follow the trend. After all, I can also watch TV on my computer with Online Media.

This simple tool lets you tune in to about 2,000 TV channels and 1,500 radio stations, all streaming content on the Internet. They're all classified by countries and can be conveniently selected by using the tree-like structure on the left pane of the program's interface. A double click on the channel's name is enough to start watching or listening. There's also a bookmark system that lets you easily store your favorite TV and radio channels.

Be aware though that the program is far from being perfect. Many channels simply don't work and some others have such a low speed transference that you get a series of fixed frames in a slideshow instead of real video. However, given the large amount of channels available, you may still find some good content – and what's more important, be able to watch it.

Online Media features a really impressive collection of TV channels and radio stations but unfortunately not all of them seem to work.

Download Online Media 1.0.1 in Softonic