NewsLeecher is a tool made for fetching and managing articles from Usenet. It downloads Usenet articles in a snap, and uses its inline engine to assemble and decode all the downloads.

It boasts the following features:

NZB download files

NewsLeecher has full support for the NZB file format.

Ultra fast Usenet super search engine

Search *all* the binary usenet groups for a specific keyword or keystring at once

Full privacy - spyware & adware free

NewsLeecher does *not* contain any spyware or adware

Advanced multiserver support

NewsLeecher has advanced support for leeching from multiple servers at the same time

Top tuned yEnc support

Besides supporting the "old" encoding formats, such as uuEncode, NewsLeecher also supports the brand new encoding format called yEnc.

Multithreaded server downloading

Besides being able to download from several servers at the same time, NewsLeecher can also use up to 99 simultaneous download threads per server.

Filter system

Enables one to find certain posts without going through all received headers. Filter by subject, size, age and more.

Automatic downloading

The built-in automatic multipart posts processing removes the hassle from combining binary post parts one by one. NewsLeecher detects and combine parts by itself!

Fastest group caching in the world

Fast group caching enables much faster group viewing by only receiving the latest available post headers and caching the old ones.

Top todern user interface

State of the art user interface with support for XP themes and many options for tweaking the usability and the interface!

Advanced feature support

NewsLeecher supports many advanced features that make it easy to use your usenet membership to the fullest. Such features include smart article highlighting, a built in group noteblock and much much more!

Download NewsLeecher 3.9 in Softonic

Antivirus tools are the kind of software applications that you need to use for an extended period of time in order to fully test them. Still, having only a few hours to try Kaspersky Anti-Virus, I must say I got a really positive impression.

After a slightly troublesome installation process which included the eventual uninstalling of other antivirus apps plus an updating process, you're ready to launch Kaspersky and let it take care of your computer. In fact, it monitors not only the file system, but also email and web browsing, thus providing you with a comprehensive security solution that will keep you safe from today's most usual dangers on the Web.

Kaspersy features several different scanning modes (Critical areas, My computer, Startup objects and Rootkit scan). Each one of them can be run manually or programmed to run according to a certain period of time. You can also define your own scan mode and set an exception list for those files, folders and apps that you trust and needn't be scanned. One thing I particularly liked is the possibility to create a rescue disk, in case your PC is completely ruined by a virus attack.

Kaspersky seems very light on resources, which is always good in a program that you must have constantly running. However, files and apps may take slightly more time to open while Kaspersky analyzes them. I guess this is a small price we have to pay for being a bit more secure. In any case, you may as well use the exception list and make sure all your trusted apps are included there.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus offers a complete protection against virus, Trojans and worms for your file system, email and web browsing.

Download Kaspersky Anti-Virus 8.0.0.357 in Softonic

Kaspersky® Internet Security 7.0 provides you with the same proven anti-virus protection as Kaspersky Anti-Virus together with additional features including Parental Control, a personal firewall, an anti-spam filter, Privacy Control and more.

Product Highlights

• Integrated protection from all Internet threats
• Integrated antivirus protection: 1) Hourly automated database updates, 2) Preliminary behavior analysis, 3) On-going behavior analysis. New!
• Real-time scanning for email, Internet traffic and files
• Personal firewall with an IDS / IPS system. Improved!
• Protection from leaks of confidential data. New!
• Parental Control. New!
• Protection from spam and phishing
• Automatic database updates

Additional Features

• Protection from viruses, Trojans and worms
• Protection from spyware and adware
• Protection from all types of keyloggers. Improved!
• Detection of all types of rootkits. Improved!
• Protection from viruses when using ICQ and other IM clients
• Rollback of malicious changes on your PC
• Self-defense of the antivirus program from being disabled or stopped
• Tools for creating a Rescue Disk
• Free technical support

Download Kaspersky Internet Security 2009 8.0.0.357 in Softonic

Sandboxie is an interesting alternative to traditional anti-virus/anti-spyware software. According to the developers, when you run a program on your computer, data flows from the hard disk to the program via read operations. The data is then processed and displayed, and finally flows back from the program to the hard disk via write operations. For example, if you run the Freecell program to play a game, it starts by reading the previously recorded statistics, displaying and altering them as you play the game, and finally writing them back to disk for future reference.

Sandboxie changes the rules such that write operations do not make it back to your hard disk. The key is the transient nature of the sandbox which makes it easy to get rid of everything in it. If you were to throw away the sandbox, by deleting everything in it, the sandboxed statistics would be gone for good, as if they had never been there in the first place. You maye in fact prefer to run your Web browser inside the sandbox most of the time. This way any incoming, unsolicited software (spyware, malware and the like) that you download, will be trapped in the sandbox. Changes made to your list of Favorites or Bookmarks, hijacking of your preferred start page, new and unwanted icons on your desktop - all these, and more, are trapped in and bound to the sandbox.

This is a very original solution to the perennial problems caused by adware, spyware and malware. However, it's dubious as to whether it can deal with the continual sophistication of such programs.

Download Sandboxie 3.28 in Softonic

CCleaner is a small utility that will take care of a few of the important maintenance tasks that every computer user should carry out as regularly as possible to keep their systems in top shape. Fast, reliable and easy to use - it's one of the best cleaning systems out there.

For me, the beauty of this program is the speed at which it carries out the various scans and fixes. Its main purpose is to clean any unnecessary files from your hard-drive and on opening the program you see the various aspects of Windows that you can search through and clear. It will also detect your installed applications that may hold on to files which are no longer any use, such as Google Earth histories or Flash Player configurations.

The interface is very easy to navigate and before taking any action, you will always be asked to confirm that you are sure about what you want to do. There is a useful registry checker that will quickly check its integrity, and let you fix bad entries after making a backup. The uninstall and startup tools are handy to have and simply add to the usability of this very rounded little maintenance assistant.

The most recent release now works on Vista with Admin permissions where available and features various bug fixes and imrpovements to the translated versions.

CCleaner makes keeping your PC clean easy for beginners and experts alike. It's small, fast, comprehensive, and free to download it - get cleaning now!

Download CCleaner 2.09.600 in Softonic

When analyzing a software application one must praise its virtues, but also look for possible flaws that developers can improve in future versions. However, in the case of Glary Utilities it's really difficult to find anything that we don't like.

This excellent toolkit includes a handful of system utilities that enable you to tweak, repair, optimize and improve your system's performance. Tools are conveniently categorized so that you can quickly find what you're looking for: disk cleaner, uninstall manager, memory optimizer, file shredder, duplicates finder, tracks eraser... just about any tool you need. They're all generally very intuitive and in case they make important changes to the system (like the Registry repairing tool) the program creates a backup copy first.

Not all the tools included in Glary Utilities include configuration settings, something we missed in some of them such as the Disk cleaner. Also, we would like to have a Firefox Assistant, the same way the program includes an Internet Explorer Assistant.

Download Glary Utilities 2.5.3.211 in Softonic

Free anti-virus software can be a mixed bag - sometimes they can do more harm than good while at others, they can save you hundreds of dollars with solid real-time protection.

Avira AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic is the free version of Avira AntiVir PersonalEdition Premium. This doesn't mean that it's any less powerful bit it does mean that many advanced features are unavailable. The program can scan up to 30 different file types and seems to have been designed with a particular focus on Trojans according to the developer blurb. Protection is served in real time and as with all virus scanners, you are immediately given the choice whether to ignore, quarantine or delete the infected file. What's nice about this scanner is that for those viruses that it can't identify or clean, it compiles a report which can then be automatically submitted to Avira's lively user forum where someone, somewhere, should be able to help. The scanner sits in your system tray bit can be expanded to show the current settings and the status of any scans in progress. Scanning is quick and it doesn't slow your machine down significantly. Unfortunately however, it provides no option for scanning incoming and outgoing mail or adware/spyware but if you're just looking for a trojan blocker/remover, it's a very solid product.

A powerful and well organised anti virus scanner that helps you get to the bottom of virus issues rather than hinders your progress.

Download Avira AntiVir PersonalEdition Free Anti-Virus 8.1.0.295 in Softonic

Avira AntiVir Premium is a professional anti-virus package that offers the latest in protection technology.

It covers just about every major threat to your system including viruses and malware, worms, Trojans, adware, Spyware and phishing. The program features real-time on-access
scanning so you can be sure you are protected 24 hours a day. There are also manual options for full system scans and it automatically keeps its virus database updated with the latest threats. The interface also makes available an easy to access POP3 based MailScanner that scans emails before they are stored on your machine. The overall interface is one of the best things about this security centre for me because unlike many, it's not cluttered. It's extremely easy to navigate and read and doesn't leave you wondering whether it's in scan mode, updated or ready to go.

This really is one very solid anti-virus suite that seems to run so well, you'll hardly notice it but when you do need it, you'll find yourself presented with a friendly interface that makes using it a pleasure.

Download Avira AntiVir Premium in Softonic

Sometimes I prefer watching movies and TV series on the computer rather than doing it on the couch. The image quality in my PC monitor is better and I can handle more formats than just DVD.

Of course, I need a good video player in order to enjoy my favorite movies at their most, and my choice is no other than BSPlayer. This great video player features anything you need to watch movies or any other kind of video on your PC. It supports all popular video formats (and audio as well, in case you were wondering) and though its basic interface is not really the nicest one I've seen, you can easily customize it with skins.

BSPlayer supports video subtitles, takes screenshots of movie currently playing, lets you create bookmarks and chapters to move along videos more easily and has also support for plug-ins. I especially liked the way you can control playback, either by using keyboard shortcuts or simply your mouse: one click to stop the video, two clicks to go full screen, mouse wheel to raise or low the volume…

The only thing I didn't like was the fact that, being a free version, you're obliged to install an adware element on your PC that displays ads from time to time while you're browsing the way. It's a safe app that doesn't compromise your privacy, but still it's not my cup of tea. I guess it's just the price you have to pay for having such a great video player for free.

BSPlayer lets you enjoy your favorite movies on the PC with a wide range of features (subtitles, screenshots, bookmarks and more) provided you're willing to accept some ads on your desktop.

Download BSPlayer Free 2.28.964 in Softonic

aMule stands for all-platform Mule. aMule is an eMule-like client for the eD2k and Kademlia networks, supporting multiple platforms. aMule is entirely free, it's sourcecode released under the GPL just like eMule, and includes no adware or spyware as is often found in proprietary P2P applications. aMule is built upon the wxWidgets (formely wxWindows) toolkit, which enables it to support multiple platforms.

aMule specific features:

• Multiplatform
• Proxy support
• Improved checks against aggressive clients
• Complete External Connections protocol from scratch
• Run a bare aMule client with no graphical interface and very low CPU and memory usage
• aMule Remote GUI to control your aMule remotely as if you where in front of it.
• aMuleWeb for browser interface and amulwebDLG is a graphical interface to aMuleWeb.
• Remotely control aMule
• Slot allocation allows you to specify to how many clients you wish to upload to at once
• Other utilities such as CAS, wxCAS, aLC, XAS, AMPS, etc
• Fast eD2k links handler at the bottom of every page (can be disabled on Preferences)
• Save 5 sources on rare files (20 or less sources).
• Filter search results.
• Default file permissions for completed downloads
• Multiple filesystems support
• Version updates checks

Download AMule 2.2.1 in Softonic

Security is by far the most important concern among computer users. This is why it's important to keep your security apps, such as your anti-virus tool, always up to date.

Regarding updates, Kaspersky users will be glad to know that their anti-virus solution has just released its latest version, Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009. This new Kaspersky brings extraordinary improvements to previous versions, from the application's appearance to the array of security tools provided, with which you can fully protect your system against any online threat.

Kasperksy's interface has been completely revamped and now looks a bit more like Vista, with transparency effects. The overhaul has also affected the menu sidebar, which now boasts large icons and a very simple menu.

Regarding functionality, the all new Kaspersky 2009 not only protects you from viruses in a proactive way, but also defends you from any sort of malware (in e-mail and IM clients too) and also help you detect fraudulent websites thanks to its phishing filter. Plus the program includes two kinds of scan (full or quick) to always keep your system perfectly clean and safe.

If there's any drawback I should point out about Kaspersky 2009 that would probably be all the hassle you have to go through during the installation process. You 're obliged to uninstall all the apps Kaspersky considers not to be compatible, update the signatures database and restart the system before you can actually start using the program.

Kaspersky 2009 has given this popular anti-virus tool a complete facelift to make it more attractive, more powerful and easier to use, though it still has a lengthy installation process.

Download Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009 8.0.0.357 in Softonic

In the never ending battle against spyware and adware that infects Windows with alarming regularity, Spy Emergency is a comprehensive security option.

This program claims to cover just about anything - malware, spam, spyware, adware, virus, trojans, worms, homepage hijackers and much much more. In other words, it's just about the most all-round solution you can find for attacks and other nasties that try to attach themselves to your system. The program follows the regular format of most anti-spyware software but doesn't overwhelm you with unnecessary options and dials. Clicking the "Start" button initiates scans and at the completion of a scan, you're asked to review the results and decide which items you want to remove. Items are ranked in order of potential threat so you can see at a glance which ones pose the biggest threat. Another plus to this system is that unlike many spyware checkers, it's remarkably light on system resources which makes it a good option for those on older machines.

Although I'm not convinced it's removing everything it should, it's still a very comprehensive product that has all possible angles of attack covered.

Download Spy Emergency 2008 5.0.305.0 in Softonic

WinMX Turbo Booster is a powerful plug-in for the WinMX P2P application. The hottest technology is applied to boost up downloads speed and increase the amount of download sources. The program's interface is designed to be attractive and easy to use. WinMX Turbo Booster is free and there are no ads, no adware, no spyware, and no trojans included in the program.

Features of the app:

• Interface is easy to use and good-looking
• Automatically resumes paused downloads
• Finished and wrong files are cleaned automatically
• Finds more sources at user-specified intervals
• Interface is easy operable by a system tray icon
• Clean and free, without any adware or spyware
• Configuration from last run is saved and auto loads on start-up

Download WinMX Turbo Booster 4.8.3 in Softonic

RemoveAny is a lightweight and simple anti-spyware utility that helps to ridentify dangerous processes on your PC.

If spyware or malware gets rooted on your system, then it can be an absolute nightmare to get it off. Some applications can do more damage than good while others don't seem to have any noticeable effect whatsoever. RemoveAny anti-spyware is not exactly a heavy duty solution but it can pick up malware pretty quickly and will delete it immediately. The program is extremely lightweight and is completely free to use. It works in real time monitoring executable files, drivers, modules and processes as well as displaying additional information about executables. When you start your PC, RemoveAny shows users what processes have started on their PC by seperating modules into three groups - suspicious, unknown and trusted. If you see suspicious modules or processes, you should not immediately delete those files. To decide whether the file is really suspicious or not, it's useful to do a Google search to find out what exactly it is but be careful what you remove!

Although it doesn't identify what each process does, for those in the know, RemoveAny will instantly alert you to illegal or strange processes on your system.

Download Removeany 1.11.1 in Softonic

Limewire, one of the world’s most popular peer-to-peer filesharing applications, has received a lawsuit from the RIAA, who are demanding $115 million in damages, claiming the application promotes the infringement of copyright. Similar applications like Grokster and Kazaa have been forced to go legal and there is speculation as to just how long Limewire will resist until they have to buckle and pay up. The existence of the popular P2P application is not under threat, but if you haven’t given it a try yet, here’s just what makes it a standout program.

In terms of file sharing, Limewire is the cream of the crop, offering the essential peer-to- peer tools in what is probably the friendliest interface of applications in its class. Beginners will appreciate the search bar, which allows you to select the type of file you’re looking for, video, image, audio, program or file. Limewire has a “what’s new” button to check out what popular files users have recently exchanged. We also enjoyed the direct connect option. If you know the IP address of one of your friends, type it in the box and Limewire will browse that user’s files. This is a quick way of sharing files with someone else and can come in handy when working on a project and exchanging documents. The only little snag we have with direct connect is that it doesn’t let you enter the username, much simpler than looking for your friend’s IP address.

Downloading with Limewire is very intuitive. After you’ve searched and found the file you are looking for, double-click on it to start the downloading process. The speed of your download depends firstly on the quality of your connection (broadband is a minimum), if you’ve correctly opened your router’s ports and whether you’re downloading a popular file or not. We would like to point out the effort that Limewire takes to make itself accessible to beginners. Not only does a tip pop up every time you launch the application, the help option also leads you to Limewire’s support centre, FAQs and a forum to get in contact with other users.

The lawsuit carried out by the RIAA is all the more surprising because of the measures Limewire takes to keep you in the realms of legality. If you decide to download Limewire from its website, you will first have to agree you will not use it for copyright infringement. When you’re configuring the application, you can set content filters, to avoid downloading files that copyright owners do not want you to share. To avoid embarrassing situations, make sure you tick the “block adult content” box, which will filter out any pornographic files from your searches.

The best way of checking the quality of the audio or video you’re downloading is via Limewire’s mini player. It’s fairly basic and to par with the players you find in similar filesharing applications, but we appreciated the way it was integrated in the application.

If there’s one thing that we’re still expecting from the Limewire team, it’s that it finally decides to jump on the BitTorrent bandwagon. Torrents are the way forward when it comes to peer to peer file sharing because of the speed, the security and freshness of downloads. Large files like movies or complete seasons of TV series are much easier to download via BitTorrent. We were also annoyed by the “buy the PRO version” window that popped up every time we started Limewire.

For its wealth of possibilities and huge base of users, (more than 4 million simultaneously on the Gnutella network) we encourage you to give Limewire a test drive. Because of the controversial nature of the application, you should always make sure that you aren’t using Limewire for illegal activities like copyright infringement. However don’t be scared off by the legality issue. Limewire, like most P2P applications is one of the most exciting possibilities that the internet gives us. It would be a shame not to give it a try. You should also check out Frostwire, the not-for-profit project of the Limewire development team.

Download LimeWire Basic 4.18.2 Beta in Softonic

Sudokus have become one of the most popular pastimes in the last few years, not only on newspapers and magazines, but also as casual computer games.

SudokuWorld is one of those sudoku computer games you can play without pen and paper. This version is supposed to have about 100,000 puzzles (though I obviously didn't count them all), classified into three different categories according to their level of difficulty.

The game features a generously sized interface which makes it easier to play. I specially liked the ability to add the so called "pencil notes" (small, temporal numbers you're not sure of yet) and also the possibility to ask for a hint. On the downside, I was surprised to see I couldn't play with the keyboard's num pad, but only with the top number row, which is not that comfortable.

SudokuWorld will keep you entertained for a while with 100,000 puzzles in different difficulty levels. And if you get stuck, don't be ashamed of asking for a hint!

Download SudokuWorld 1.0 in Softonic

SpyRemover detects and removes more than 34,600 types (more than 47,800 items and variants) of intrusive devices such as spyware, adware, hijackers, keyloggers, Trojans, tracking devices, hacker tools, and other spy devices on your PC. This spyware remover is powerful and easy to use.

Features of the utility:

• Detects and removes all types of intrusive devices such as spyware, adware, hijackers, keyloggers, Trojans, tracking devices, hacker tools and others
• Powerful, yet easy-to-use for even the casual PC user
• Offers the most comprehensive spyware definition database
• Built-in auto-updating engine makes updating of the database easy
• Real time protection automatically monitors PC for unwanted spyware
• Enhanced detection and removal engine improves on the thoroughness, accuracy, speed, and efficiency of detecting and removing spyware
• A must-have tool for your Internet security

Download SpyRemover 3.02 in Softonic

Finally you can watch all your favourite films and videos ‘on the go’ with your Sony PSP, thanks to this free, open source video converter.

The program is still in 'beta' but it seems to work really well. The conversion process is fast, and you can tailor your final PSP-friendly mp4 file, selecting the video resolution, the video quality, the frame rate, the aspect ratio and the quality of the audio. You can also leave the settings as they are for a fast, good quality conversion. We tried with DivX and MPG files and it worked perfectly.

The improvements that could be made are mostly on the management side. It would be good to have a clearer view of the videos available on the PC and which of them have been already converted. The interface could also be a bit more pleasant without damaging its current clearness. It would be also a good idea to show the estimated time for the conversion process and a percentage indicating the status of the compression.

Be prepared to view your favourite videos on your Sony PSP with this useful, fast and free converter.

Download Renpad PSP Video Converter 1.1.0.1 beta in Softonic

Saving Youtube videos in your iPod is a real pain. First you have to download those videos with a specific software tool, then you have to convert them to the appropriate format with another tool and finally you have to import them in iTunes.

With Tooble this tiring task is reduced to a couple of simple steps: look for the Youtube videos you want to store in your iPod and import them directly into iTunes. The program lets you browse Youtube right on its interface, either by categories or performing a search. Then you only need to mark those videos you want to download, and Tooble will transfer them to your computer and also convert them from their native FLV format to a more iPod-friendly format.

After that you can import the videos manually into your iTunes movie library or let the program take care of this task too by marking the "Import video to iTunes" option in Tooble's preferences menu.

The only drawback to this handy tool is the fact that it tries to install some adware elements during the installation process. Luckily though you can politely decline the offer and install the program without any undesirable add-ons.

Provided you avoid the adware offered during its installation, Tooble proves to be a handy tool that lets you easily save Youtube videos in your iPod in just two steps.

Download Tooble 0.0.3.05 in Softonic

PDF (Portable Document Format) is now one of the most ubiquitous document formats on the net. The problem is that Adobe Reader is the only tool to read it and it's both bulky and slow.

Foxit PDF Reader on the other hand is light and quick. The proof is in the pudding for starters - compare Foxit's installation file is only of just 2.2 MB against Acrobat's 20.8 MB and you can see why it opens documents in a snap. The key is that it doesn't have all those annoying splash-up screens, endless credits lists and plugins.

The program's interface been designed with ease of use in mind. You have several toolbars available, which you can show or hide at your will and which give you access to all the available utilities: zoom, text selection, image snapshot, search tool, rotation or full screen view, among others. There is a small ad in the upper right corner, but you can deactivate it by going to the View menu and deselecting the Advertisement option. One added bonus is that you can annotate PDF documents in several ways by highlighting text fragments, underlining them, strike them out or even add personal comments.

If you want a small, fast, stable and functional alternative to Adobe Reader, then look no further

Download Foxit Reader 2.3.2923 in Softonic