Thunderbird is Mozilla's award winning and free solution to manage your mail more efficiently. And there are many advantages of switching to it too. Unlike Mail for example, it can handle virtual identities and create on-the-fly addresses and it's widely regarded as having one of the best spam filters out there. The fact that like Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird can be beefed up with all manner of extensions makes it an extremely competitive mail client. It's also now much faster and more stable than before due to the new Gecko 5 engine.

Getting going

Setting up Mozilla Thunderbird is painless. You can quickly import your mail and contacts from your Outlook or Mail account and set up POP3, IMAP or SMTP accounts in a flash. To stay well organized, Mozilla Thunderbird offers filters to deliver your mail into separate folders and inboxes. And of course, there's a built-in spell checker to make sure that your mails are professionally crafted.

What makes Mozilla Thunderbird slightly more unusual is the fact that it comes with an integrated RSS reader. Nowadays, this is a little outdated because many people use a separate application - or even Firefox itself - to follow RSS feeds but it may be useful if you only want to mail and follow RSS feeds at the same time when composing mails.

Searching your mail

The search tool in Thunderbird is excellent and searches happen in real time as you type. Search results are displayed in a separate tab. Tabs in general are a very big part of Thunderbird and like Firefox, you can have multiple messages open in separate tabs. This is a fantastic feature of Thunderbird although does tempt you to have too many mails open at once. Archiving is also another handy feature for those that don't want to delete messages but want to clear space in their inbox.

So what about security? You might think an open-source mail client would inherently be less secure than a paid one but Thunderbird is surprisingly secure with a fairly bulletproof spam filter. The reason being is that Thunderbird is regularly updated and crafted by volunteers who's main interest is making a better product rather than profiting from an end-product. Security updates are regular but small so as not to slow-down Thunderbird.

Exchange support

One of the biggest selling points of Mozilla Thunderbird is that it offers Microsoft Exchange support, meaning it will appeal to Office users who previously discounted it.

On the downside, the app is lacking some finesse in certain areas. Thunderbird still doesn't have conversation style email views like in Gmail (although an extension to do this can be downloaded separately) and there aren't many options for managing attachments and photos. There's also no calendar but again, this can be downloaded separately in the form of "Lightning".

Overall, Thunderbird is an excellent free alternative to Microsoft Outlook.

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SoftAmbulance Email Recovery is able to recover deleted from disk email databases or read-and-recover data on severely corrupted hard drives. It supports Outlook, Outlook Express, Vista Mail, Live Mail, Thunderbird and The Bat! email bases and messages stored in *.eml.

Email Recovery recovers and repairs lost and damaged email bases, undelete accidently deleted messages from damaged or live storage device. Program can save recovered files to other email formats. Evaluation version has recoverable files preview.

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If there is something we have learned here at Softonic, it's that a good PDF creator is hard to find. They are either ugly, slow, lack functions or, more often, all three. Will PDF-XChange Viewer be any different?

It is! Viewing PDFs with PDF-XChange Viewer is fast and smooth - you can skip through and back pages, view documents in a variety of layouts, and search and find pages and keywords seamlessly. PDF-XChange Viewer's toolbars are totally customizable, and there is a considerable range of configuration options.

PDF-XChange Viewer's editing options are also impressive. Although the free version doesn't allow you to create documents from scratch, it does let you edit extensively, with a few exceptions, mainly the ability to add or remove pages. Commenting, underlining, stamping, attaching files and creating text boxes are all easily done, and can be modified and removed in the click of a button.

There are also tooltips, so you know what you are doing before you click. This feature is very welcome, as the PDF-XChange Viewer help is not very good. Additional cool features include a snapshot tool, document preview when opening PDFs and a huge range of interface language options.

PDF-XChange Viewer is a great PDF editor that is streets ahead of its many rivals.

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Viewing PDFs with PDF-XChange Viewer Portable is fast and smooth; you can skip through pages, view documents in a variety of layouts, and search and find both pages and keywords seamlessly. PDF-XChange Viewer Portable's toolbars are entirely customizable, and there is a considerable range of configuration options.

PDF-XChange Viewer Portable's editing options are also impressive. Although the free version doesn't allow you to create documents from scratch, it does let you edit extensively. The main exception is the ability to add or remove pages. Commenting, underlining, stamping, attaching files and creating text boxes are all easily done, and can be modified and removed in the click of a button.

There are also tooltips, so you know what you are doing before you click. This feature is very welcome, as the PDF-XChange Viewer Portable help is not very good. Additional cool features include a snapshot tool, document preview when opening PDFs and a huge range of interface language options.

PDF-XChange Viewer Portable is executable from a USB stick and offers the same features as the desktop version. It is incredibly easy to move PDFs from your PC to PDF-XChange Viewer Portable as well, making the program even more desirable for frequent PDF users and readers.

PDF-XChange Viewer is a great PDF editor that for anyone who makes frequent use of this document type.

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any kind of user ca use this software. User can view and edit pdf files. Program for viewing and editing PDF files. Main Features: open / save pdf files, zoom in / zoom out, rotate page, encrypt pdf file, decrypt pdf file, add annatations, add bookmarks, add watermarks, add attachements, covert images to pdf file, merge file with another pdf file, merge pdf documents, insert blank pages, insert pages from pdf file, insert text from text files, extract selected pages

any kind of user ca use this software. User can view and edit pdf files. Program for viewing and editing PDF files. Main Features: open / save pdf files, zoom in / zoom out, rotate page, encrypt pdf file, decrypt pdf file, add annatations, add bookma

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Adobe Reader has been in existence for over a decade and has gone through various evolutions during this time. One result of this is that it has been increasingly loaded with plug-ins and extensions which mean that it's consistently criticized as being bloated and slow.

The truth about Adobe Reader's speed

It is true to a certain extent that the extra plug-ins and extensions can make Adobe run more slowly. Adobe Reader is still a PDF reader that has much to offer though. With the latest version of Adobe Reader, Adobe have addressed some of the speed issues and the memory footprint has been improved consistently throughout the development of Adobe Reader X.

Interface and stand-out features

This version of Adobe Reader is not only slightly faster, but also displays a clearer, simpler interface that makes it easier to use. Adobe Reader X still features the classic tools from previous versions (Zoom, Text selection, Snapshots and Read out loud), but now it also includes renewed features such as the ability to leave comments as sticky notes. A new feature you’ll find in Adobe Reader X is the Share tool, with which you can easily share the document by email or via the Adobe SendNow service.

Built-in security precautions

If you were worried about security issues in Adobe Reader, fear not: Adobe Reader X is probably the safest version ever released, thanks to the new Protected Mode than loads images, code and 3D objects in a special area in memory, isolated from the system.

Adobe Reader X is undoubtedly an important update in the history of this popular PDF reader – an essential tool to open, read and print PDF documents.

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With a name like My Notes Keeper, it's not too hard to guess what this program is intended for. The developer, however, has ambitious plans for the little application and lists a whole world of other uses for the tool, from e-book to outlining application, making My Notes Keeper nothing if not flexible.

The My Notes Keeper interface is unlikely to cause you any major problems. It is very intuitive and can be managed much like Microsoft Word, even down to the skins. The general idea is that you add notes in the large, word processor-like area, customizing them to your liking with all the usual fonts, colors and formatting. They are then displayed as a modifiable tree diagram, where parent and child tasks, color-coding and easy moving make your notes extremely easy to organize and view.

My Notes Keeper has an impressive range of features and configuration options, the majority of which are designed to help you get as much detail as possible into each note. You can add links and images, attach documents, import data, export the notes and print and structure your trees as desired. It is this range of flexibility and content which makes the program so versatile. Although the developer's suggestion that you can use it as a photo album is probably stretching a little, it would be perfect for any kind of research, especially if the notes could be typed up directly in the program.

If organized notes and information is central to your task, you're probably going to like My Notes Keeper. It makes it very easy to see the relationship between different areas of information and once the note has been written, it is easy to change, move or erase it, which means it is perfect for research, which is likely to change and develop over time. My Notes Keeper is quite detailed, and while some will appreciate the depth this adds to their work, many others just won't need such a wealth of extra information.

My Notes Keeper is perfect for research where displaying detailed, related information is key to the task.

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- Network Visualization; - Different device monitoring methods and Web sites; - Different notification methods; - Automation of external commands execution; - User-pleasant and easy to use interface; - Vector graphics in SVG; - High performance monitoring due to asynchronous operations implementation; - No administrator rights required; - E-mail notification through secure channels with the attached network map image;

You can also check any aspect of operation of any service, server or PC: HTTP, FTP and other network services. Good-looking dynamic network map and user-friendly interface will make your work with this software ultimately clear, comfortable and efficient.

Bloggers, administrators network and active users.Use at home, in organizations in the enterprise, the corporation and the Internet to monitor the Web sites.

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USB sticks are pretty much ubiquitous, and there have been many examples of people losing them and releasing sensitive data. USB Flash Security creates a password protected USB drive that will help keep you data safe.

USB Flash Security is a Japanese developed product, and it suffers from weird translations in places which is unnerving! However, USB Flash Security is not that hard to use once you've untangled the instructions. It is installed on your PC, and when you run it you can protect whichever attached drive you wish. Once protected, wherever you use the USB stick, you'll have to use a password to get in.

It's very effective, but does have some annoying side effects. First is that installation wipes your disk, meaning you have to back it up first. The second is that the security program only runs on PCs - so if you have it installed you won't be able to access that data on other operating systems.

USB Flash Security also requires administrative rights to run, which can mean some annoying user changes every time you want to open it.

USB Flash Security is probably more complicated than need be, but it will make your data safe from casual theft.

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Web Pickups: Recipients can receive files from any smart phone/tablet by using the device’s web browser. Web Drops: Receive big files directly on your computer from any device with a modern web browser Detailed Reporting: Reports provide detailed information on sent and received files. This complies with the auditing requirements of many firms who are required to track data transfers. Chat: Chat directly & privately with other Binfer desktop application users in your contact list

Binfer can do two things that no other file transfer software can do: 1. Transfer files without uploading then anywhere. This ensures 100% privacy and fastest possible transfers. 2. Send files of ANY size and ANY quantity without compressing or splitting

People who product large quantity or big size of digital files such as professional photographers, video/film editors, lawyers and people returning from vacation.

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It gives you quick access to your inventory and customer details. The intelligent reordering system gives you complete control. Order in new items weeks or months before they are needed. Analyze your invoices and track your sales with the reporting feature. Track long term trends and remove dying stock before it becomes a burden.

The fully featured reporting system let's you track sales over time, making market analysis simple. Find the optimum layout for storing stock and then use the Picking List feature to save more time. Full barcode support saves you time. Simply attach a barcode reader to your PC and it will fully integrate into the software

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If you're tired of Microsoft Outlook, or just want something new from your desktop email client, you could give Postbox a whirl. At the moment it's in Beta, but it works well and has some interesting features.

Postbox is based on Thunderbird, and this is visually obvious the moment you run the program. Installation and setup is easy, and as you'd expect you can set up multiple email accounts. There is an excellent search engine which requires your inbox to be indexed for rapid results. If you have thousands of emails, the first indexing might take a little while, but after that it's not something you'll notice.

One unusual feature in Postbox is the tabs. There are contacts, images and attachments tags. The images tag, for example, will show you all the images from your email, and this works for contacts and attachments too. These can then easily be accessed and added when composing email, which turns your inbox into a useful active database. They are also fully search-able, so finding that picture of the cute kitten that so and so sent you becomes much easier.

Highlighting any text and right clicking gives you a range of useful tools, from Google and Amazon searches to listing on social media sites. The former is useful, but the latter feels tacked on and not fully implemented yet. You can, for example, post highlighted text to Twitter and Facebook (as a status update), if you allow Postbox to login to those services. However, these are currently very basic, and unlike some social media clients, there is no way to add your Facebook news feeds etc. You can also add RSS feeds, although as a reader Postbox is still a little basic.

While a little beta-rough around the edges, Postbox is still a very able email client with some promising new features.

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If you have folders and files that you'd like to keep private, you should check out Folder Lock. It's not a free app, like My Lockbox, but it does have excellent configuration options and lots of ways of keeping important and private documents away from prying eyes.

How does it work?

Folder Lock gives you several options. Firstly, it's integrated with Windows Explorer, so if there's a file or folder you'd like to lock, simply find it and right click. From here, you'll have the option to lock or shred. If you open the program interface, you'll have loads more options, including the ability to lock and encrypt files, protect USB sticks, CDs and DVDs and encrypt email attachments.

What other features are there?

Folder Lock is a really flexible program and offers much more than just locking folders. You can also create virtual encrypted Wallets, for storing things like addresses and bank data, and also back up all of your encrypted data to the cloud. Folder Lock's configuration settings are also comprehensive and, obviously enough, password protected.

Overall opinion

Folder Lock is a great program. There are lots of free folder locking apps out there, but not many have the multiple features and ease of use of this one. Download it and give it a try - we think you'll like it.

Folder Lock is an excellent folder protection app. We heartily recommend it.

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Like the basic version, the interface of Contenta Converter Premium is very simple. The toolbar across the top gives you access to the program’s main features, all of which are available in the Premium version. These include advanced features such as read/write of JPEG 2000 files, reading of RAW formats, PSD formats etc.

You can convert photos between formats (both popular and less common ones), reduce the size of images and automatically rename them and sort them into subfolders according to their metadata. Contenta Converter also lets you preview images and check the amount of space you save when optimizing their size.

In the Premium version, there are additional features such as the ability to flip and crop images, converting multiple PDFs to images and adding special effects.

However, the main problem with Contenta Converter Premium is the same as the Basic i.e. if your metadata for images is very generic or inaccurate, it doesn't work very well as it uses this information to identify files.

Overall though, Contenta Converter Premium is a very powerful tool for sorting, renaming, converting and manipulating images that have the correct metadata attached.

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Easy to use. Daily, weekly or monthly schedules. Extensive filters. Full or incremental backups. Backups stored in ZIP archives. ReliableBackup (TM) technology Wizard interface and Advanced interface

All users who want to backup their files on a separate disk or network attached storage disk.

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Sometimes complicated project management tasks can be made easier by compiling the data graphically. Similar in concept to EDraw Mindmap, MindManager is a very complete tool that will help you do just that, mapping your ideas and hopefully streamlining and refining the decision-making process while it does.

MindManager is an attractive tool that most users will immediately feel comfortable with. It's worth following the Interactive Quick Start guide so you can familiarize yourself with the program's main functions and features. By the time you've finished, you should easily be capable of creating your own maps. There are endless uses for MindManager. If you have the ideas, this program will give you the means to express them, in an attractive and ordered way that will make it much easier when the time comes to act.

MindManager has lots of extras that allow you make your maps as detailed as you want. You can add multiple Topics, Sub-Topics, Relationships and other elements. Everything can be dragged and dropped, and right clicking will allow you to add elements such as icons, notes, images, links and attachments. Once you've finished, you can treat the document as any other text, editing, spell-checking and exporting to various formats.

MindManager's main attraction lies in how easy it is to organize information and ideas. A complicated idea soon becomes a workable plan when you get it down on paper, and MindManager's user-friendly interface means that you can move elements around as much as you like until you get it right. MindManager also has features such as a timer, brainstorming mode and built-in internet capabilities, elements that take an already great program to another level.

MindManager makes organizing even the most complex projects a total breeze.

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