So you’ve made the leap and installed the versatile internet browser, Firefox, but are you ready to trade in your Outlook Express for Mozilla’s open source mail application? Thunderbird is Mozilla’s award winning and free solution to manage your mail more efficiently.

Thunderbird woos users thanks to its flurry of options and the benefits of an open source application. Automatic updates ensure that you have the latest version of Thunderbird, preventing any security threats and offering you new features as soon as they’re available.

The biggest worry for users is switching from one mail application to another and losing precious information. With Thunderbird the switch is painless because you can quickly import your mail and contacts from your Outlook and set up your POP3 or IMAP account is a snap. To stay well organized we suggest that you take advantage of Thunderbird’s filters. While this option is nothing new to the experienced Outlook user, you’ll come to see that Thunderbird makes filters much more accessible, thanks to a simple selection of combinations and actions. Create distinct folders for your personal and professional mail and your newsletters and associate them with filters to avoid the hassle of constantly sorting your mail. Another feature we could single out is the integrated spell checker, a blessing if you send many emails and can’t be bothered to constantly verify your writing.

Although it isn’t visible right away, Thunderbird also features an RSS reader. Handy if you need to follow the news or specialist websites, this tool fits seamlessly into Thunderbird and you could almost forget that it is a mail application. Paste in the RSS feed from your favorite news source and the main messages window will reveal a list of all the latest feeds. The message pane is used as an integrated browser window to display the selected article.

Email is the number one source of viruses, that’s why Thunderbird offers various levels of message encryption, a spam filter and support for valid certificates. We found the spam filter particularly effective. Set it to “learn” mode, and it teaches itself to separate the valid email from the rest of the junk. You have to be mindful of this option though, because Thunderbird can become too restrictive and may decide on its own that one of your friends is suddenly persona non grata. Reviewing your junk folder every now and then should avoid you accidentally losing friends. Thunderbird also automatically turns off Javascript and by default does not load remote images, a good way to defuse the risk of viruses from dodgy emails.

Another known feature of the Mozilla line of products is customization. Just as with Firefox, Thunderbird can integrate a slew of extensions and add-ons to rev up your inbox. You can also add or remove icons from the actions pane, selecting the ones you use most frequently.

The one place where Thunderbird fails, and professionals will confirm this, is the failure to integrate Microsoft Exchange support. An essential tool in any work environment, the collaborative messaging software is sorely missed in Thunderbird and seriously limits its usefulness in offices. Furthermore, we can question why Mozilla included an RSS reader yet failed to incorporate a calendar, standard in most mail applications nowadays.

While the lack of proper business minded features will limit Thunderbird’s point in the workplace, the simplicity, customizability and security make it a number one choice for home users. If you’re worried about your safety on the Internet or are just looking for a more efficient way of handling your mail, Thunderbird is probably the best solution out there.

Download Mozilla Thunderbird 1.5.0.10 in Softonic

The battle against trojans and spyware is a constantly ongoing one but there's no need to spend big money on expensive solutions.

a-Squared is a free anti-spyware/anti-malware scanner that can pick up just about anything that's illegally installed itself on your system. It frees your PC from malware after a simple and fairly quick scan to improve your PC performance and reduce any performance or internet related problems. However, this is one program that does so with caution which is a refreshing change. Instead of just wiping anything off your system, it places those components that are critical to system performance in quarantine meaning that there is less chance of your system becoming unstable after a scan. The program is regularly updated although unfortunately not automatically - you have to instruct it to perform an online update at periodic intervals. The program has clearly been designed with beginners in mind - there are no complicated scanning functions or strange components to deal with. It reminds me somewhat of CCleaner and in a way, performs a similar job but with a focus on malware instead of temporary files.

An extremely simple and affective malware scanner, it should pick up any illegal software that's attached it self onto your system in a safe and secure way.

Download a-squared (a²) Free 3.5.0.25 in Softonic

Morpheus is one of those age old P2P applications and, with support for Gnutella, eDonkey, Bittorrent and many others, probably the most versatile you can find on the market. The new version aims to turn the P2P client into the ultimate multimedia application. Does it succeed?

Morpheus has gone through a complete facelift and the new version brings a newer interface. The window is divided into 4 tabs: search results, my files, podcasts and Morpheus online, giving you an idea of what it considers important. A pane on the left side allows you to create playlists or keep track of searches and videos – although strangely not music. Morpheus lets you also sync all your downloaded files to import them automatically to iTunes. Oddly enough, the chat tool is now hidden at the top of the interface, next to help and preferences.

Morpheus wants to appear as a multifaceted app, not just a simple P2P program. It includes an embedded browser, Morpheus Online, from which you can check-out the internet or find new files to share while you’re downloading. This is particularly useful when you’re looking for new podcasts. By clicking on the podcast page button in the podcasts tab, you will be taken to Morpheus’ own podcast library. While it’s not as star studded as the iTunes library, it’s full of varied and original content. The podcast tab is wisely divided into podcast and episodes, so you can browse through what you’ve downloaded. However we were quite confused by the whole podcast downloading procedure. The progress bar is hidden in the file window of the My Files tab. Why didn’t Morpheus leave this in the podcast section?

Morpheus has also beefed-up its security. You can now select your antivirus application to automatically scan downloaded files. The program also includes solid parental control so you can enter hazardous terms into the block list to avoid your kids searching for violent or pornographic material. You can also add a password to make sure you control who has access to Morpheus. The application also introduces UDP technology to improve the performance of downloads and allow secure file sharing between 2 firewall protected PCs.

This new version comes with many interesting enhancements, but not enough to get us overexcited. Add to that the many drawbacks we found in the application. The interface for example is way too clunky, and it’s safe to say that lies in the two large ads at the top and the bottom of the program (which disappear if you buy the Pro version). The “My Files” tab has an additional file window at the bottom, which adds to the confusion in the interface. The one click burning function is something we were eager to try out but was nowhere to be seen.

However hard Morpheus tries at integrating cool features like web browsing or podcasting, we figure the application should only be used for what it’s good at i.e.P2P downloading. The program gives access to all the P2P networks, even Bittorrent, and the new version introduces safer and quicker transfer thanks to UDP technology. The other extra features in the application like the library structure or web browser felt a bit awkward, and therefore failed at turning the program into a true multimedia application. Let’s hope Morpheus gets it right in the future.

Download Morpheus Basic 5.5.1 in Softonic

When it comes to P2P file sharing, eMule usually wins hands down but UseNeXT is an interesting, slightly more sophisticated offering which has a lot to offer.

For starters, depending on your connection, it can be remarkably quick. You can download at speeds of up to 25 Mbps with DSL/Cable and it¡s pretty constant rather than the fluctuations you often get with such services. The network also prides itself on security over it's rivals such as Limewire and eMule - with ISPs continually cracking down on users, UseNeXT promises users far more anonymity than most.

The Usenet archives are supposedly some of the biggest in the world - more than 300 Terabytes of data available at all times and they claim that around 2,000 Gigabytes of new files are added daily. The problem in the past was that UseNeXT used to be a very complicated affair that only tech geeks can handle. However, nowadays, it's been simplified to such an extent that eMule, Limewire and other P2P users will feel more than comfortable with it.

While it can't possibly hope to compete with the reach and depth of the major P2P networks, UseNeXT offers an impressive selection with some super fast downloads.

Download UseNeXT 4.61 in Softonic

Desktop Author sets out with an ambitious promise - to provide you with everything you need to publish your own eBook. Whether you want to create multimedia presentations, newsletters, photo albums or marketing infromation, the program aims to oblige.

The published output is designed to be as true to a real book as possible, allowing the reader to flip the pages realistically by clicking on the right side of the page to move forward, and the left side to move back. Besides text, you can adorn the pages of your virtual tome with images, MPEGs and even Flash movies.

There are many slick looking magazines and books appearing on the web these days that are beginning to seriously compete with traditional print publications in terms of reader experience. Judging by some of the example files on the publisher's site, there's certainly a lot you can achieve with Desktop Author, considering you need no special knowledge or programming skills, as used by many of the Flash-built flip-page publications online today.

The GUI is loosely modelled on a traditional desktop publishing app, and although it lacks the range of tools of a heavyweight like InDesign or Quark, Desktop Author contains the standard features you'd expect in such an app, including snap-to guides, image insertion, text formatting and shape drawing.

Considering the program is supposed to be aimed at beginners, the interface is a little cumbersome to navigate at first. Of course, you get used to it, but perhaps the program would have benefited from a Properties Inspector displaying the information about the currently-selected item, allowing you to move, edit, resize, apply styles or just view data on the file in question.

Having said this, there are a few useful tools that speed up the eBook creation process, such as the integrated (albeit basic) image editor, preset buttons to add to your pages, and a collection of built-in templates to get you started. This makes it possible to rustle up a decent looking book in just a few minutes. Of course, as with all creative applications, the more time you spend honing your skills the better the results will become.

Publishing your finished digital books is a matter of simply pressing the 'Publish' button and waiting for everything to be neatly packaged into a DNL file. This can take some time, and once it's done, you still need to install the DNL Reader provided by the developer. There is, however an option to package the eBook inside an executable file, which might be the best option to ensure everyone can read your words of wisdom.

The trial version only allows you to create two pages, but if you have the patience to overcome the slightly awkward toolset layout you'll be crying out for the functionality to add more, making the full version worthy of its $189 price tag.

Download Desktop Author 5.6.1 in Softonic

Dear Windows users, you have always had to suffer from Mac users' statements regarding the superiority of their system stability, functionalities and graphic design. For the latter it wasn't really possible to counteract anything, until now. The day of revenge is arrived, or it's nearly here at least.

With CubeDesktop you can have 6 independent desktops always available, which is useful, but the coolest thing is that to change from one to the other you have a very well designed full screen 3D cube to rotate. If you prefer, you can also choose a 3D flip or a 3D carousel menu. They all present the different desktop with the applications you may have opened and the background image you have. Linux users may argue that they already had this utility many years ago but first of all Linux is not normal-user friendly (ok, now Ubuntu has made things a bit easier) and it wasn't anyway so graphically pleasant and so fast to load...was it?

The downside of this application is that it uses nearly 50Mb of your RAM and it requires a powerful PC to run smoothly. Someone may also ask himself why one would want to use 6 desktops. I have enough mess with one.

I'm sure purists will say it's an unnecessary waste of resources, but if you like the possibility of having different desktops always available and you are a bit envious of Mac graphics, take your revenge now.

Download CubeDesktop 1.3.1 in Softonic

Ever had a feeling that the person is bad just by simply looking at him or her? Or the other way around - felt very comfortable around an individual from the very first day to later discover that the person was a crook? The way a human looks really does hold a key to his or her personality. And now there is a way to accurately predict personality by analyzing facial features of an individual.

Digital Physiognomy is both entertaining and enlightening software that reads person's face and tells you about the secret character traits of the individual with remarkable accuracy. People's facial features - eyes, noses, ear lobes, chins, eye-brows, cheekbones, and foreheads all carry valuable information easily revealed with this software.

The program works like a police sketch (a.k.a. photo robot), so you don't even have to have a person's photograph. The software reveals person's Sexuality, Temper, Intellect, Self-Esteem, Sense of Humor, Level of Optimism, Will Power, even Luck. Digital Physiognomy can give you detailed written reports or present all information as graphs and data points. The application comes with a set of faces that belong to famous people - Einstein, Chaplin, Stalin, Mao and some others. Don't trust it? Download the free evaluation version and try your own (or a friend's) face.

While this software has been released for pure entertaining purposes, it is used by psychologists, human resource specialists, private eyes, corporate security departments and other physiognomy loyalists. The program is an instant hit in any home or office where it appears. Don't miss your chance to download a free trial version or buy a full-featured program.

Download Digital Physiognomy 1.62 in Softonic

I play the guitar a little bit and so I was glad to discover this program. The problem with my manual electronic tuner is that it's always running out of battery power so half the time I'm playing completely out of tune. However, Free Guitar Tuner totally eliminates this problem by running directly through my PC.

The principle is very simple. You've got six strings and to pluck each one you just click the mouse on them. There are three main settings - acoustic, electric and synthesized guitar. Just keep clicking the string until the tone on the program sounds exactly like the tone on your guitar. The disadvantage however is that, if you're tone deaf like me, it's hard to ascertain when you've got it right. If only the program could "hear" the guitar through the microphone, and show you how close it was to being in tune like a normal tuner, it would score much more highly.

Nevertheless, for a simple and elegant looking tuner, you need look no further.

Download Free Guitar Tuner 1.50 in Softonic

Breaches of security are one of the few downsides of the Internet age and can cost you big time. Thankfully, there are ways to prevent your data being compromised, and the SSH encryption technology provides an almost impeccable solution. In the past, it's been difficult to make full use of SSH without paying a fortune, but OpenSSH lets you transfer encrypted information over a network for free.

The software includes applications such as SSH service, a client, a public key generator, authentication agent, etc. In practice, all of these programs serve the same function, which is to remotely manage systems that have SSH encryption installed. Thus, once you have provided the username and password, all aspects of the remote system are accesible. The installation of all the components is done automatically, however, the key must be activated manually with the commands that appear in the program manual. This means you may need to call in the help of an expert if you're not familiar with encryption keys, as it can be a tricky process.

All in all, OpenSSH provides a reliable and effective solution for sharing information using SSH encryption, although beginners may find it a little daunting.

Download OpenSSH 3.8.1 in Softonic

These days, digital technologies are coming into use in almost every area of our life. The high precision of machine-controlled operations coupled with extended overall reliability ensure an optimum result. Almost everything from photos to finance is becoming digital. However, some areas of process automation are somewhat neglected. Numeric control devices are an older technology than digital photography, and there are not enough quality software solutions allowing NC editing.

Introducing CNC Syntax Editor by AGG Software, the unique feature-packed NC editing software, allowing full control over your program file. CNC Syntax Editor operates as a multiple windows NC programming environment allowing you to edit, change, upload and download programs to a numerically controlled device. The application is capable of all types of ASCII CNC files and G codes, ensuring optimum performance even on larger files. CNC Syntax Editor can highlight program syntax and visually split commands and coordinates into groups, helping you to develop NC programs.

Thanks to its highly configurable options, it is possible to customize the CNC Syntax Editor to your needs. And, thanks to its set of built-in tools, it is possible to mirror your coordinates, shift or scale axes value, switch axes, etc. The CNC Syntax Editor comes with flexible licensing options, volume discounts or a free trial version!

Download CNC Syntax Editor 2.5.0.19 in Softonic

Trend Micro Anti-Spyware 3.0 is one of the latest Spyware search-and-destroy tools to hit the market and replaces the previously named SpySubtract PRO.

The main improvement over the old version include:

Enhanced Spyware scanning engine that runs faster than before
Trickle Scan frees CPU power to other functions during scan
Full CWShredder integration
Active monitoring of over 150 touch points
Network integrity checking makes sure network connectivity exists after spyware removal

The product is also endorsed by Trend Micro which has been designing PC securty software since 1989.

Download Trend Micro Anti-Spyware 3.11 in Softonic

It seems somewhat ironic that Internet Explorer’s reign should be undermined by Firefox. After all, this is a browser that rose from the ashes of the team that developed Netscape Navigator, a program which IE ousted to claim the monopoly on the web.

It’s somewhat bizarre that a non-for-profit developer should be in a position to strike fear into world’s biggest software producer, especially while still in the 1.x stage of development of its product. Yet, as many predicted, this eagerly-anticipated release represents a real threat to Microsoft’s dominance of the browser market, with the Mozilla team pumping plenty more into the program and thus upping the bar for IE7.

Firefox was already a class product, delivering a fast and simple way to browse the web in comfort. So much so in fact that existing users might be wondering why they even need to upgrade when the current version is so much better than anything else out there.

Picture it like sitting in business class and being offered another pillow. The app now allows you to browse the web faster and more securely than ever, while retaining the incredible simplicity of previous versions of Firefox. Cosmetically, you won’t notice much difference between this and the last incarnation, but the changes that have been made are quite welcome, if not essential.

First up, is a new-and-drop facility for browser tabs, allowing you to sort and reorder your tabs just by clicking and dragging. The Preferences menu also gets an overhaul, making the options clearer and easier to access. The developers have also tweaked the ´Back’ and ´Forward’ tools, preloading cached pages to speed up surfing.

However, the main changes to the program are all hidden within the back-end of Firefox 1.5. The app comes armed with a series of security fixes, making it the safest surfing tool on the block. What’s more, all updates and security patches, including extensions, now take place in the background, meaning that you don’t have to manually install every new release – a process which can become pretty tiresome.

There’s also a new extension management system which makes it a lot easier to manage the expanding wealth of cool plug-ins for the browser. On the down-side, the new version renders many extensions and themes redundant as they are incompatible with version 1.5. That said, we all know how keen Firefox developers can be to keep up with technology, so it shouldn’t take long for the updates to these extensions to be completed.

Of course, the application retains all of the cool features that have helped make it so popular including integrated searching (now with support for Answers.com), tabbed browsing, pop-up killer, live bookmarks and support for the latest web technology.

While the tweaks within this release are reasonably subtle, Firefox is making incredible strides towards conquering the browser market. I development continues at the current pace then Microsoft is going to have its work cut out, especially as we haven't seen a release of IE since before Osama Bin Laden went missing.

Download Firefox 1.5.0.7 in Softonic

Acme CADSee is a drawing and image file viewer, as well as a browser and printer. The program is one of the fastest and easiest to use DWG/DXF/DWF(AutoCAD R2.5-R2006), PSD, BMP, JPEG, TIFF, PCX, GIF, PNG, MNG, TGA, PCX, ICO, WMF file viewer available. AcmeCADSee is two tools in one; a full-featured drawing viewer quickly displays your images in high quality, and the drawing file browser lets you efficiently find and organize your drawing file.

Features of the software:

• Open various DXF, DWG versions ( R2.5-R2006) and DWF
• Identify literal fonts and entity color correctly
• Supports BMP, JPEG, GIF, PCX, TGA, TIFF, MNG, PNG, PSD, WMF, ICO
• Supports full-screen mode (press F)
• Supports printing
• Register once and upgrade free permanently

Download Acme CADSee 4.82 in Softonic

The English version of a famous Japanese free painting and retouch software for full color graphic, with mask, layer functions. You can use your own customized brush tips and even use an image file as a brush tip to create unique effects. Its user-friendly interface is recommended for CG beginners as well as experts.

Download Pixia 3.3 in Softonic