Miranda IM Portable brings all the functionality and features of the popular cross-network IM client Miranda right to your pocket.

Miranda IM Portable can easily be installed in any USB memory device so that you always have a tool to chat with your online buddies, no matter which network they connect to or which computer you're using. Pocket-sized Miranda IM Portable is light on resources, works fast and leaves no trace on the host system's Registry.

Miranda IM Portable supports multiple networks, which means you'll be able to talk to people on ICQ, AIM, MSN, Jabber, Yahoo! and even IRC. The program's interface and general design is honestly not the most brilliant I've seen, but the program is so handy and easy to use that it makes up for it.

Also, though Miranda IM Portable is quite a basic client, you can add loads of new features by means of plugins – just like the Firefox extensions, but for Miranda.

Save Miranda IM Portable in your USB memory stick and you'll be able to chat with your IM buddies anytime, anywhere.

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This is where Nimbuzz comes in really handy as it's a multi-platform instant messaging client. This enables you to chat with your contacts and keep track of your friends' updates on more than a dozen different social networks and IM protocols, including Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, MSN, ICQ, Google Talk and Jabber, among others.

Nimbuzz is already quite popular among mobile platforms, where it has been around for a while. This port to PC has gone a bit unnoticed, I guess partly because Nimbuzz doesn't feature as many tools and options as other similar programs. The tool in itself is quite simple, very light on resources and does what it says on the tin. There are no custom backgrounds, animation effects or any other bells and whistles.

Besides basic text chat, Nimbuzz includes other interesting options such as the ability to organize contacts by groups and the possibility to share files with them, even if they're not online, thanks a to a temporary storage system. Being primarily a mobile IM app, Nimbuzz also allows you to keep contacts synced with your mobile phone.

Despite being simpler than other similar tools, Nimbuzz is still a great app to keep in touch with friends across many different social networks and IM platforms.

Download Nimbuzz 2.5.1 in Softonic

Apowersoft Free Screen Recorder is video capture software that will allow you to record your computer’s screen or audio. With only a few simple tools you can decide which parts of your computer are captured and converted. Apowersoft Free Screen Recorder is a great piece of software for screencasts, screenshots, and audio.

Features

With Apowersoft Free Screen Recorder you can record your desktop, take screenshots, or record audio. With the screen record option you can select from recording the entire screen, specific regions, focus around the mouse, or take web cam input. For audio you can pick to record desktop sounds, speak through your microphone, or combine both. Default formats for video is WMV, and for audio MP3, OGG, WMA, or WAV can be selected.

Apowersoft Free Screen Recorder can also set up tasks that automatically record for you. You may schedule a certain time of day, the duration of your recording or specific stop date, and if you are capturing video (including regions) or audio. You can also set if your computer shutdowns automatically after Apowersoft Free Screen Recorder finishes.

Usability

Apowersoft Free Screen Recorder has a very basic yet intuitive design. When the app is first opened and no files are in the output folder the file window will be hidden. After your first recording this window will expand, causing Apowersoft Free Screen Recorder to become larger in size. Each button has a simple drop down menu to adjust settings. There are rarely any detailed settings windows, except when scheduling tasks. One annoying aspect of Apowersoft Free Screen Recorder's UI are false buttons that you might expect to open new options and menus. Instead these are just fancy links to Apowersoft’s website placed in deceptive locations.

If you select region recording, an overlay will cover the screen, allowing you drag a desired rectangle sized space. If you’re unhappy with the rectangle size you can move it around, adjust pixel width and height, or select a preset from a drop down menu. Before recordings you can set up a countdown to prepare your screen, as well as audio beeps when a recording starts and stops.

Quality

Apowersoft Free Screen Recorder has a very minimal appearance, often times you may forget it is even open. When not recording it simply looks like a black and off-white bar. The miniature design works well as you rarely want a large abrasive UI while recording. You can also choose to hide most all of Apowersoft Free Screen Recorder’s toolbars to further increase its stealth.

Apowersoft Free Screen Recorder doesn’t cause any obvious slow down while it records, allowing you a smooth capture session as you open other programs and web pages. Quality of finished recordings is generally high and files are compressed to low sizes. There can be visual problems when using the area around mouse option, but only if you select a resolution under 640x480.

Conclusion

Apowersoft Free Screen Recorder is a great way to capture your screen for screencasts and audio. It only supports WMVs, but the quality of recordings is good with compact file sizes. Apowersoft Free Screen Recorder can set up captures at specific dates and automate shut downs, making handy for daily recording. Just remember that several buttons are links and not options.

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QQ Messenger may not sound familiar, but it's the most popular IM client in China.

When you think about IM clients, the first names that come to your head are Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger and the likes. But have you ever heard of QQ Messenger?

With more than one billion registered accounts, QQ Messenger is now more than just a simple IM client: it's a whole social phenomenon that millions of people use on a daily basis, and an essential part of their lives.

The truth is that QQ Messenger is not that different from other IM clients you may have used. There are the typical contacts list – which you can organize by groups - support for voice and video chats, smileys, nudges, ability to send photos and share files (with support for pause/resume!), and other utilities we're used to finding in IM clients. There's one important difference however: in QQ Messenger you hardly find any ads!

Besides the traditional IM tools, QQ Messenger also includes some not-so-common features. You'll be able to capture an area of your screen or record a short video clip on the spot, and share both of them instantly with your contacts. Another area where QQ Messenger stands out is personalization. You can customize almost anything, from choosing a skin for the interface to selecting the font for your messages. The program also includes a wide selection of avatars and personal pictures to choose from, but if you don't like any of them, simply upload one from your hard drive. The only thing that didn't work for us was downloading more themes from the Web.

QQ Messenger is mainly a tool for chat, but it can also be used to help your friends or customers thanks to its integrated Remote assistance tool: a basic remote control app that grants you access to your friend's desktop and enables you to help them with any computer issue.

In general terms, QQ Messenger surprised us for various reasons: first, it features a nicely designed interface with cute buttons and icons, which is hard to find in IM clients; second, it has interesting extra features that make it a complete communication tool; and third, it's amazing how such a popular program with more than a billion users is still known by so few people over here!

On the downside, I have to admit that QQ Messenger was a bit unreliable when trying to add contacts - which, by the way, are identified with numbers, like good old ICQ. Not a very user-friendly method, I'd say. Other than that, QQ Messenger is a great IM cilent that is definitely worth trying out.

QQ Messenger, the most widely used IM client in China, has now an international version that may help it become even more popular!

Download QQ Messenger International 1.6 in Softonic

The content in Iminent is almost endless: besides the classic emoticons, you’ll also get avatars, winks, short videos and all sorts of animations. These are all for free, provided you put up with having banners all over the program’s interface.

Another interesting feature in Iminent is the ability to create your own animated avatars and emoticons, and also create a list with your favorite animations.

Iminent is nicely built-in to your IM client. Bear in mind though that your friends will also need to have this plug-in installed in order to see some of the animations included.

Bring more emoticons, winks, avatars and animations to Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger with Iminent.

Download Iminent 5.43.11 in Softonic

Trillian supports multiple chat networks, such as Live Messenger, AOL Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk, ICQ, Facebook, MySpaceIM, Skype, Jabber, IRC, Twitter, e-mail accounts (POP3 and IMAP) and Bonjour, besides the Trillian proprietary network.

This means that the program's interface can get quite bloated with contacts from a dozen different IM platforms. Luckily, you decide which networks to load on Trillian startup, and also temporarily hide certain lists or merge contacts into one single entry per person, which may help organize things a bit.

The new version of Trillian has improved many aspects of the program. Initial setting is now much quicker and easier, and the interface has totally been redesigned not only for a better integration with Windows 7, but also to provide you with a more compact, easily manageable window.

In a way, Trillian is not just a multi-platform instant messaging tool anymore, but a complete social timeline where you can chat with your friends – either by text, voice or video - and also see what they’re up to on Facebook or Twitter.

Trillian is back with an even more powerful mult-platform IM client, featuring support for a dozen protocols and an attractive, intuitive design.

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Capturing sounds from your computer isn't as straightforward as it should be. Maybe there's an audio clip from a video you'd like to use or if you'd like to record part of a song to turn into a ringtone. Streaming Audio Recorder makes it easy and allows you to record any sound your computer produces.

The first thing most people will do with Streaming Audio Recorder is try to record streaming music from programs like Spotify and Pandora. While recording these songs "over the air" is illegal, Streaming Audio Recorder will work and captured streaming audio just fine. Streaming Audio Recorder limits users to 128 kbps recordings, which is on the low end of acceptable audio quality. Streaming Audio Recorder can also pick up sounds from your mic, if you have one connected.

There is a built in music search feature, which pulls up tracks and artists. This feature didn't work for us as we were repeatedly given "403 Forbidden" errors. While this feature is nice, it seems like an afterthought and it seems to pull tracks from all over the internet.

The trial version of Streaming Audio Recorder is pretty full featured but has a couple of limitations. There will be a five second nag screen you have to wait through before using the app and using some of its other features. Users will also be limited to recording a maximum of 3 minutes and can only download one track at a time.

Streaming Audio Recorder works well for recording system audio but its music search and downloading features are little more than an afterthought.

Download Streaming Audio Recorder 2.7.7 in Softonic

Yahoo! Messenger has long been one of the world's most popular IM clients, mainly because Yahoo! itself is such a large presence in the realms of web-mail, communities and so on. It now sits comfortably in second place to Windows Live Messenger in terms of user-base.

Among the new features in Yahoo! Messenger, the emphasis is very much on looks rather than functions. For example, the brand new IMVironment feature (which completely customizes your chat windows) looks pretty impressive at first until you realize that nearly all of them are simply complex advertisements or marketing campaigns from firms like Gatorade and Kleenex. Improvements to the way contacts' images are displayed, as well as new photo-sharing via the excellent Flickr are welcome additions but even they can't dispel the bad smell emanating from IMVironment.

New emoticons have been added to this latest version of Yahoo! Messenger, as have new skins for the main window. To me, these represent fairly minor aesthetic changes rather than important new functionalities, and as such aren't enough of a reason to upgrade. More handy features like improved handling of PC to PC calls, MP3 voicemail, and better integration with Yahoo! sites have also been included but again, none except for the Flickr tool seems really useful. Really, this Beta feels as if it's about matching Live Messenger for features and not much more.

Yahoo! Messenger probably isn't aimed at users like me who prize usability and simplicity above bright colors and lots of advertising. If you like the sound of branding every chat window you use with Kleenex or Axe deodorant then Yahoo! Messenger is for you. If you'd rather use a simple, elegant and uncluttered chat interface, switch to Google Talk and you'll never look back.

A bloated, brightly colored IM client packed with advertising and not much more.

Download Yahoo! Messenger 9 in Softonic

To bring Yahoo! Messenger up to date, Facebook chat has been integrated into the latest version, along with social games like Mafia Wars. You can now use video chat in full-screen mode, and the 'Always On' feature means you'll stay connected whether on mobile, at home or at work.

You can of course update your Facebook status from Yahoo! Messenger, and also on Yahoo! What hasn't changed from the previous version is the amount of bloat in the app. Some people may appreciate the shared videos, social games (as shown in the video here), radio stations, emoticons, search bar and so on. However, all this stuff adds a lot of weight to the Yahoo! Messenger, and it feels unsophisticated today. The video call quality in Yahoo! Messenger is pretty good, however, and in fact if it stuck to being a chat app, we would recommend it more highly!

The amplification of social aspects in Yahoo! Messenger isn't a revolution. If you love all the bells and whistles, you'll love this app, but many people will find it annoying and intrusive.

Download Yahoo! Messenger 11.5.0.228 in Softonic

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Using AV Voice Changer Software you can change your voice in real time to make it sound like an old woman, a teenage boy, a girl, and much more. The app also allows you to record sources online and through your computer and adjust the voices yourself.

Chat with a new voice

AV Voice Changer Software Gold is compatible with many VOIP and instant messaging services such as Skype, Teamspeak, Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger. It can also be used when playing online games such as World of Warcraft and Second Life.

Voices can be tweaked using the various knobs and settings in AV Voice Changer Software. Be warned that the user interface is very cluttered and confusing, so it will take you a while to find your way around it.

Parody voices

This Diamond Edition has a faster voice morphing algorithm, and numerous options. It also includes packages of parody voices that help users talk in the voices of some Hollywood stars and other famous people. The Parody Maker, which is supposed to morph your voice into that of a celebrity doesn't give you very good results, although they are quite amusing.

AV Voice Changer Software is fun although it's not really useful for anything that playing practical jokes or morphing someones voice to protect their identity.

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Bandoo adds new animated emoticons, nudges, winks, and images, to your messenger client. They are bright, bold and brash with animations, TXT language and new pictures all at your fingertips.

Bandoo adds a bar on the conversation window, just above where you write. There are six menus to choose from, one to add emoticons, another one to add animated text, then Winks, Nudges, User pictures and special Bandoo features at the end. Each category contains dozens of new animations divided into categories, although, as you might guess the emoticons selection is far wider.

While earlier versions suffered from slow down, Bandoo now seems to works perfectly smoothly, and doesn't interrupt the flow of your conversation.

Bored with the standard messenger emoticons? Bring new life to your IM with hundreds of free cartoon style, brightly colored animations. They may not be to everyone's tastes, but Bandoo is sure to be a hit with chat lovers.

Download Bandoo 7 in Softonic

-MSN Messenger history. -Yahoo! Messenger history. -Miranda Messenger history. This program is very useful if you have Instant Messenger installed both ?

at home and at work and want all you messages from work comp to be automatically added to your home IM history archive (program add only new messages) and so on.

Or if you have worked with your email at some comp and want to move all mails to your home comp. Or if you want just backup your important data.

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This program protects your computer from threats before they have a chance to infect your system and cause damage. Both novice and long-time computer users will find the program suitable for their needs.

McAfee VirusScan 2005 can also detect programs like keyloggers and Web dialers. It also guards against pop-up ads. This program scans attachments sent through such instant messaging software programs as AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, and Windows Messenger.

Whenever you get a new virus, the program automatically updates with the latest virus definition, in the background while you are working. McAfee VirusScan 2005 automatically scans both inbound and outbound email as well.

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Paltalk includes access to hundreds of chat rooms on a huge variety of topics, and has also support for audio and video chat. The number of chat rooms and video conferences you can join, however, depends on the plan you subscribe to, from the free Basic one with very limited features to the VIP plan for $29.95 a month.

The interface in Paltalk is very similar to that of other IM clients. You have a personal area on top of the window with your avatar and nickname, and then a list of contacts. The bottom part displays the list of available chat rooms. Paltalk can also be used as a standard client for other popular IM networks such as Messenger, Google Talk, AOL Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, ICQ and the Facebook chat – as long as you install the necessary plug-ins.

An original feature in Paltalk is the creation of an online chat profile that you can share with your family and friends so that they can IM you at any time from their web browser, without having to install anything.

In general terms Paltalk feels a bit overwhelming because there are ads all over the place and more often than not, you enter a room only to hear music or ranting from a user. The messages exchanged in Paltalk's chat rooms are often so jumbled up that it's hard to be able to follow a genuine conversation.

Paltalk is a desktop IM client with support for audio and video chats, and with lots of chat rooms to meet people from all around the world.

Download Paltalk 10.0 in Softonic

x), Yahoo Messenger (including version 9. x), AIM/AOL (including version 6. x, with encrypted protocol), ICQ (included version 6. x), Google GTalk, and Skype.

Support record chat in both plain text and HTML/Rich text* format, including emotion icons, font and colors. The chat monitor system auto start when there's new chat session occurred, do not need to keep the main program running to monitor chat, the chat monitor will be run in a complete hidden (stealth) mode.

And it's designed to support multi-user system, it will monitor chat from all windows users on the same computer. Improved from previous versions, MessengerLog 360 has more features than ever before, such as, a improved auto chat log uploader, via email or FTP, suitable for parental controls; a robust chat log file manager, come with strong encryption and compression; an advanced chat log search engine; plus automatic online updating, and 15 color themes.

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Confidently download, share and open files from friends, family, co-workers - and even total strangers-Protects against viruses and other malware using industry-leading technology NEW -Scans all Web, e-mail and instant messaging traffic in real-time -Provides an unmatched detection rate of new threats based on two different proactive technologies -Blocks spyware programs that track your online activities Protect your identity: shop, bank, listen and watch, privately and securely-Blocks web pages that attempt to steal your credit card data -Prevents personal information from leaking via e-mail, Web or instant messaging NEW Guard your conversations with top-of-the line encryption -Instant Messaging Encryption keeps your conversations private on Yahoo!

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Confidently download, share and open files from friends, family, co-workers - and even total strangers-Protects against viruses and other malware using industry-leading technology NEW -Scans all Web, e-mail and instant messaging traffic in real-time -Provides an unmatched detection rate of new threats based on two different proactive technologies -Blocks spyware programs that track your online activities Protect your identity: shop, bank, listen and watch, privately and securely-Blocks web pages that attempt to steal your credit card data -Prevents personal information from leaking via e-mail, Web or instant messaging NEW Guard your files and conversations with top-of-the line encryption-Instant Messaging Encryption keeps your conversations private on Yahoo!

and MSN Messenger -File Vault securely stores personal information or sensitive files Connect securely to any network at home, at the office, or away-The two-way firewall automatically secures your Internet connection wherever you are -Wi-Fi monitor helps prevent unauthorized access to your Wi-Fi network Protect your family and their computers-Parental Control blocks access to inappropriate websites and e-mail -Limits kids access the Internet, games, etc.

to specific times -Makes it easy for you to manage the security of your network from a single location Play safely, play seamlessly-Reduces the system load and avoids requesting user interaction during game play Get fine-tuned performance from your computer-Optimized scanning technology skips safe files for better scan speed and lower system load -Antispam stops unwanted e-mail from reaching your Inbox -Laptop Mode prolongs battery life Automatic defragmentation feature by Diskeeper.

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Confidently download, share and open files from friends, family, co-workers - and even total strangers-Protects against viruses and other malware using industry-leading technology NEW -Scans all Web, e-mail and instant messaging traffic in real-time -Provides an unmatched detection rate of new threats based on two different proactive technologies -Blocks spyware programs that track your online activities Protect your identity: shop, bank, listen and watch, privately and securely-Blocks web pages that attempt to steal your credit card data -Prevents personal information from leaking via e-mail, Web or instant messaging NEW Guard your conversations with top-of-the line encryption -Instant Messaging Encryption keeps your conversations private on Yahoo!

and MSN Messenger Play safely, play seamlessly-Reduces the system load and avoids requesting user interaction during game play Get fine-tuned performance from your computer-Optimized scanning technology skips safe files for better scan speed and lower system load -Laptop Mode prolongs battery life Let professionals solve any security issues-Assistance with common issues built directly into the product -Free technical support for the entire duration of the product license Automatic defragmentation feature provided by Diskeeper.

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Confidently download, share and open files from friends, family, co-workers - and even total strangers-Protects against viruses and other malware using industry-leading technology NEW -Scans all Web, e-mail and instant messaging traffic in real-time -Provides an unmatched detection rate of new threats based on two different proactive technologies -Blocks spyware programs that track your online activities Protect your identity: shop, bank, listen and watch, privately and securely-Blocks web pages that attempt to steal your credit card data -Prevents personal information from leaking via e-mail, Web or instant messaging NEW Guard your conversations with top-of-the line encryption -Instant Messaging Encryption keeps your conversations private on Yahoo!

and MSN Messenger Play safely, play seamlessly-Reduces the system load and avoids requesting user interaction during game play Get fine-tuned performance from your computer-Optimized scanning technology skips safe files for better scan speed and lower system load -Laptop Mode prolongs battery life Let professionals solve any security issues-Assistance with common issues built directly into the product -Free technical support for the entire duration of the product license Automatic defragmentation feature provided by Diskeeper.

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