For a while now, computer users have been waking up to the real threats that exist while browsing the web. Every day, more turn their back on the established vulnerabilities of Internet Explorer and opt for the hottest open source project on the net, Mozilla’s Firefox. But there are plenty of alternatives that offer great features, and one of those is Avant Browser.

Based on Internet Explorer, Avant will import all your favorites automatically and also keep your settings intact. As such it makes a good alternative to the popular Firefox browser, which shuns all things IE, and may seem slightly too foreign from the conventions that many users have built up while using Microsoft’s browser. Although Avant Browser is based on the Internet Explorer engine, it doesn’t fall victim to the same security vulnerabilities (although no-one is claiming that it’s invulnerable), and while it’s at it, adds some great tools designed to enhance your browsing experience.

The Flash blocker is an effective way to keep memory usage of the browser to a minimum or to simply cut out those over-elaborate ads that invade and take over many web sites. To appeal to a wider audience, there are quick links that let you quickly translate pages to a wide selection of languages, or you can customize the look of the browser using the many skins that are included by default. Of course, no modern browser could claim to be complete without tabbed browsing and Avant really delivers the goods with a system that allows you to even reload tabs after you’ve closed them.

In fact, this browser has some of the best extras that we’ve seen to date, in particular the system whereby tabs can be resized like normal program windows letting you display multiple site windows side-by-side, within one browser window. There‘s also a useful toolbar item that displays tags describing the page that you’re on. Click on a tag and you open a list of site that result from a search using that tag or keyword; brilliant! And the piece de résistance is an automatic session saver that lets you open up all the sites you were browsing when you last closed the program.

Avant Browser is relatively unknown as a mainstream browser and as such is not restricted from experimenting and taking the best ideas from the big hitters, as well as adding its own nuggets to the mix. What you get is a very impressive selection of tools in a browser that will even run your Microsoft update without objections. Definitely worth consideration if you are thinking of changing browser.

Download Avant Browser 11.7.15 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 4.18.8 in Softonic

If you're the kind of person who likes to have a colorful signature in your e-mail messages, this program is for you.

WiseStamp is a Firefox add-on that lets you add a fully customizable e-mail signature to all your outgoing messages. The good thing about it is that it's compatible with the most popular webmail services on the web: Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo! and AOL Mail.

WiseStamp is very easy to use: after installing it in Firefox, you'll see a tiny icon in the browser's bottom right corner from where you can enable or disable the extension, as well as choose between the two only available signatures: business or personal.

You can totally customize each signature: choose fonts and colors, add links to Internet sites, display a small image, link to your profile on a dozen different social networks… the choice is yours.

WiseStamp offers also a preview window to make sure your signature looks nice before saving your work. Pity it doesn't save and sync signatures across computers, which means you'll have to manually create and configure your signature in every single computer you access webmail from.

With WiseStamp you'll be able to create and use completely customized HTML signatures in your webmail system.

Download WiseStamp 1.1 in Softonic

Some years ago ICQ was one of the most popular IM applications among Internet users. But when Microsoft launched MSN Messenger, many of these users forgot about their original IM client and joined a network that was growing very quickly. In the meantime, ICQ continued to be upgraded until finally reaching version 6, which sets a new milestone in the history of this classic piece of software.

To begin with, the installation process is fast and easy, the only downside being the fact that you must set ICQ Search as your web browser's default search engine, as there's no way of getting around this option.

This new ICQ boasts a fresh-looking interface which has been completely redesigned. Also, you can customize it with skins, although you'll have to download them because there's not a single skin included in the program. It does include, however, a very complete personal profile which you can fill in with all your information, including name, location, interests, spoken languages and a personal avatar that ICQ oddly refers to as "devil".

Generally speaking, ICQ 6 offers all the functions that we find in other IM applications, namely instant written messages, voice calls and video calls. All of these are complemented with a very nice set of animated smilies and the so called "Tzers" which are the equivalent to Messenger's "Winks". Chat sessions can be grouped together under the same window, which prevents your taskbar getting cluttered. ICQ allows you to start text conversations right from the contact list using the Quick message feature. There's also the option to send SMS messages to your contacts, but this is not available in all countries yet.

This new version promises to give you complete control over configuration settings. However, we must admit that we had some trouble in finding them, until we happened to click on the "Main" button on the interface. The configuration options are quite complete indeed, allowing you to change every single detail regarding sounds, notifications, privacy and security, message history, appearance and the program's general behaviour.

In all, ICQ seems to have developed a new version with a fresh redesign only to measure up to its main competitors but without really offering any new functions. Again, choosing ICQ (or any other IM app) ends up being just a question of which IM your friends use.

Download ICQ 6.0.0.7015 in Softonic

Registry errors are one of the main reasons for the slow operation of your PC or frequent crashes. Baku can ensure that if your registry does have malicious entries, they can be removed safely. Baku also deletes empty folders, 'History' folder contents, 'Recent documents' folder contents, 'Temp' folder contents and temporary internet files. It can also search Windows log files, shortcuts to missing files and folders and user specified file types. The registry scan itself aims to remove unused and obsolete keys, including ActiveX, Application Paths, Fonts, Help files, Icon files and pesky uninstallers.

Like all such programs, it backs up your registry in case of any wrongful changes although I found that this wasn't exactly easy to restore. Probably the most useful function is the registry compacting facility which does seem to make a notable difference to the running speed of your PC. The developers claim the program uniquely works by recreating each registry hive "from scratch", thus removing any slack space that may be left from previously modified or deleted keys. Note that this function does NOT change the contents of the registry in any way, nor does it physically defrag the registry files on the drive. Be warned though that it takes a little longer than programs such as CCleaner and you'll have to wait more than few minutes for the registry backup to be made.

Download Baku 3.6.3.3194 in Softonic

Gizmo5 is one in a long line of VoIP applications that allows you to use your internet connection to make cheap phone calls.

If you're a Google Talk fan, like me, then the first good thing is that Gizmo5 and Google Talk are now connected. This means that Gizmo5 users can now send instant messages to Google Talk users but unfortunately, you can't call them although the developers promise that it's coming soon. To send Instant Messages, simply click on the IM icon next to your contacts name and you can instantly text other Gizmo5 users. One great feature of Gizmo5 is that you can perform free mobile phone and landline conference calling although you have to setup the system beforehand with the Gizmo5 FreeConferenceCall utility which can be tricky due to a few complicated configuration options. Another interesting feature is that Gizmo5 includes Asterisk PBX Support which means that you can now log into your virtual office with Asterisk PBX software. This basically means that you can receive calls and access your Gizmo5 phone wherever you are in the world. I also like the fact that it includes a free recorder which is something lacking in Skype.

Easy to use and integration with GTalk makes this a nice little app although it's calling rates need to be a lot more competitive before it can compete with Skype.

Download Gizmo5 4.0.0.386 in Softonic

Have you ever been in a situation where you've viewed a video on YouTube and you know that it must have been cached on your hard drive somewhere but you can't find it?

If so, then you need VideoCacheView which can find cached FLV files from video sites such as YouTube and DailyMotion. VideoCacheView automatically scans your Internet Explorer or Firefox cache and finds all video files that are currently stored in it. It makes it easy to copy the cached video files into another folder so you can play or watch them whenever you want.

If your movie player can play FLV files it will play the video directly from your browser's cache. Alternatively, you can simply copy and paste the files into another folder so that they're easier to locate without VideoCacheView in the future. However, it's still hard to find the clips that you want because in your cache they've all got similar generic names.

VideoCacheView is a great way to find all those FLV files that you thought were lost forever on your hard drive.

Download VideoCacheView 1.21 in Softonic

VSO ConvertXtoDVD is an attractively designed and easy-to-use video burner that gives you the power to convert and burn a huge range of formats.

VSO ConvertXtoDVD can handle just about any format you throw at it including AVI, WMV, MKV, YouTube, OGM, MPEG and Quicktime. So instead of having to watch your downloaded films and videos on your PC, you can watch them in the comfort of your lounge on your DVD Player. VSO ConvertXtoDVD goes much further than just mere DVD creation though because it helps you create and author DVD menus.

It offers the possibility to add background video, image or audio and even have chapter and audio/subtitle menus. If you do want to add subtitles, it supports most of the major formats including SRT, .SUB/ID and .SSA and VSO CovertXtoDVD gives you control over color and font selection, and supports tags like italic, bold and the ability to toggle them on or off with DVD player remote control. The encoder makes a decent job of converting videos in terms of the output quality although it is slightly slow - estimate about 1 hour for conversion of a full movie.

A powerful and easy way to get your favourite movies and video clips onto DVD and give them an extra touch of class with a menu.

Download VSO ConvertXtoDVD 3.2.1.55 in Softonic

The VoIP protocol has caused a total revolution in the way people communicate on the Internet, and Skype is undoubtedly one of the most widely used VoIP clients you can find.

With Skype you can not only have voice chats on your computer – just like telephone, only for free – but also make real phone calls at much lower rates, using the so called SkypeOut service and paying with Skype credit. Besides voice chats, Skype also includes the standard IM functionalities (written conversations, emoticons, user avatars and so on) and also lets you have video conferences.

These video calls are precisely the main focus on Skype's latest beta version. The program's interface has been completely redesigned with video conferences on mind. This means it's been made wider (full screen, really) so that video fits in perfectly with your written chat, your contact list and a toolbar to manage conversation. Honestly, I'm not sure this is a big improvement; my guess is that most people still use Skype only for voice calls and will find the new interface too obtrusive.

The sound quality during our testing was perfect: loud and clear. Unfortunately we can't say the same from the video image quality. The fact that it was displayed at quite a big size made it look too pixelated. There was though one nice detail, and that's the ability to see your own video image built-in on your contact's video. Also, though this is still a beta version, I must say I didn't have any problems while testing it.

Other improvements in this beta are, among others, a call quality feedback indicator, the ability to turn alerts off, the possibility to group contacts and a new feature called Video in mood, which lets you embed online videos from Metacafe and Dailymotion in your status message.

Skype 4.0 Beta features a complete interface overhaul that now focuses more on video chats, and also adds some handy improvements to the way you communicate online.

Download Skype 4.0.0.166 Beta 2 in Softonic

Wise Disk Cleaner is a utility that helps to locate and eliminate those temporary archives that, with time, can litter your hard drive to critical point. The app can clear a wide range of different types of files including temporary Internet files, Windows updates, temporary user files, system files, and redundant archives.

One of the best things about Wise Disk Cleaner is that it allows you to add your own folders with temporary files not in use or those that you simply want to eliminate when executing the program. The program is very simple to use, and it's just a case of running a quick scan of your files then marking those that you wish to eliminate.

Download Wise Disk Cleaner 3.7.3 in Softonic

Have you ever wanted to LoadScout is a smart program designed to help you browse the web and FTP sites.

If so, then you'll need LoadScout which allows you to access information from any remote media or archive without the need to download it. Basically, it works by downloading only a small part of a file and then extracting the required data. It works very well in Internet Explorer although unfortunately it doesn't integrate into Firefox at all.

So what are the practical uses of LoadScout? Well, if you want to download an Mp3 or image from a sever, you can use it to preview exactly what it is before downloading the whole thing saving you a hell of a lot of time. LoadScout also includes it's own FTP client and download manager so you can use it to download the full file if you want. Finally, it also supports all types of proxy: FTP, HTTP and SOCKS and will let you save frequently visited sites into the favorites folder.

LoadScout is a great way to preview files on FTP servers without the need to download them whole.

Download LoadScout 2.0 in Softonic

IECookiesView is a small utility that displays the details of all cookies that Internet Explorer stores on your computer. In addition, it allows you to do the following actions:

• Sort the cookies list by any column you want, by clicking the column header. A second click sorts the column in descending order
• Find a cookie in the list by specifying the name of the Web site
• Select and delete the unwanted cookies
• Save the cookies to a readable text file
• Copy cookie information into the clipboard
• Automatically refresh the cookies list when a Web site sends you a cookie
• Display the cookies of other users and from other computers
• Open the IECookiesView utility directly from Internet Explorer toolbar
• Change the content of a cookie
• Export your cookies to Netscape/Mozilla cookies file
• Block specific Web sites from using cookies through the cookies blocking mechanism of Internet Explorer 6.0

Download IECookiesView 1.73 in Softonic

Stealing the crown from WinZip, the previously undisputed king of file compression apps, WinRAR is a must-have in any modern-day PC toolkit. The application not only includes support for extracting virtually any kind of file compression format, it also boasts a no-nonsense approach to reducing file sizes.

Some will argue that the application isn’t as quick as WinZip at compressing files. However, for the small lag in time difference, you end up with a significantly smaller archived file at the end of the process with WinRAR. What’s more, the application allows you to save files into both ZIP and RAR formats, with a multitude of options for speeding up compression times, or reducing file sizes at the expense of a few more seconds.

Although many newcomers might be put off by the sheer range of features and settings within the program, the interface doesn’t take long to get accustomed to, and if you’re still really stuck there’s a simple wizard-based system that walks you through the process of extracting or compressing. All this adds up to make WinRAR a dependable utility that performs better than any other tool in its class.

Download WinRAR 3.80 in Softonic

Spyware Doctor removes and provides real-time protection against just about any threat you can think of including spyware, adware, trojan horses, keyloggers, browser hijackers, phishing attacks and other malware threats. For Internet Explorer users, it also provides a built-in popup blocker and malicious site guard.

Scanning is quick and covers many areas of your PC including Windows registry, file system, processes and tasks, browser, network configuration and cookies. Since the scan is pretty quick, the most effective way to use it is to install it for use on Windows startup to ensure that your system is clean before every use. However, this will make your boot-up time longer and can sometimes be frustrating as you wait for Spyware Doctor to report that there's nothing new to remove since yesterday anyway. You may also find that it conflicts with other anti-virus or anti-spyware programs and you may be prompted to remove them or find that they have been effectively disabled by Spyware Doctor.

It's also important to ensure that Spyware Doctor has constant access to the internet as it is updated daily with the latest threats. However, these threats can sometimes be exaggerated out of proportion such as in the case of keyloggers which Spyware Doctor may warn you is a high threat but in reality, is benign.

Download Spyware Doctor 6.0.0.385 in Softonic

As USB sticks and other flash memory drives increase in storage capacity, so does their popularity as software repositories. Many applications have developed special versions for these devices, usually known as "portable". One of them is CCleaner Portable.

In a few words, CCleaner Portable is the pocket version of CCleaner, an excellent cleaning tool with which you can erase unused files, thus gaining back valuable free disk space and making Windows run faster and smoother. The great advantage about CCleaner Portable is that it allows you to do just the same without leaving any evidence of use on the computer. In fact, you don't even need to install it. Simply run it from your USB memory stick and you'll have immediate access to all of its features. CCleaner Portable does create some necessary keys in Windows Registry, but these are deleted when the program is closed, so there'll be no trace of it left on the system.

Regarding its functions, CCleaner Portable does a very satisfactory job. The program helps you to get rid of many different files such as Internet cookies, temporary files, log files or all those leftovers found after months of installing and uninstalling applications. The configuration menu features interesting options like the possibility to keep certain cookies which may be useful for you or the ability to add custom file types to the delete filter. Apart from freeing up disk space, CCleaner Portable also lets you uninstall applications, find broken registry keys and list all the programs set to run when Windows launches.

On the down side, CCleaner Portable does not allow you to undo changes, so you must be very sure about what you want to erase before clicking on "Yes". Also, the program can take a few minutes before finishing the analysis that must be done prior to deletion. However, this is probably due to the fact that CCleaner Portable runs from a USB device and that we checked all the available options when cleaning our system – the test found 558 MB of removable material, which obviously took a while to be deleted.

All in all, CCleaner Portable is every bit as good as its "big brother" and comes in really handy when you want to use it on any PC without installing anything or leaving any traces behind you.

Download CCleaner Portable 2.12.660 in Softonic

Desktop sharing is not just the expert field of tech professionals anymore. Whether you want to show how an application works or simply to explain things on someone else's PC, you'll need to find a way to share desktops easily.

TeamViewer offers a simple way of creating desktop sharing sessions with other users whether on a distant PC, local connection or over the internet. Both users will each have an ID and password with which to connect to their session.

Taking control of another PC is a great way to solve issues from a distance and demonstrate things on a desktop without actually being there physically. TeamViewer also allows file transfer and includes a chat function to communicate with your contact.

You can also record sessions and play them back afterward. These can then be used as tutorials or to go back on what you've done in previous sessions.

If you dig in the details you'll be able to choose not only whether to optimize quality or speed, but also configure the amount of access you want to give to your desktop.

The free version of TeamViewer has a number of limitations, and lacks a number of modules like the TeamViewer manager or customer module. If you want more features you'll have to be ready to pay at least €159 for higher end versions.

TeamViewer is a good program to quickly share desktops with another user. The free version will let you create secure sessions and control what you show to your contact over the internet.

Download TeamViewer 3.6.4889 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 - CCleaner it's one of the best cleaning systems out there.

For me, the beauty of CCleaner 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. CCleaner 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 in CCleaner 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. CCleaner 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 of CCleaner now works on Vista with Admin permissions where available and features various bug fixes and improvements 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 2.12.660 in Softonic

GameThrust sets the standard for PC and internet optimizing software. GameThrust increases overall speed and performance your computer and internet connection is capable of. Very easy to use, fully compliant with all versions of Microsoft Windows and adjusts itself to your computer specifications.

Makes direct changes to system registry and system files to enhance memory, screen drawing, animations, refresh rates, CPU threading speeds, internet speed. Automatically adjusts settings and changes made based on computer and internet specifications, complete fault tolerance system implemented.

Deep system analyzer and diagnostic features which attempt to find and repair any potential problems with the computer affecting its performance. Bring your gaming to the next level.

Download GameThrust 1.9.29.2008 in Softonic

TweakVI was designed for easy tweaking and optimizing a Windows Vista based computer. It allows you to tweak hundreds of hidden features of Windows Vista, optimize your machine and customize it to your needs.

Unlike other tweaking utilities, TweakVI bundles lots of different utilities in one. It was developed to combine both tuning and optimizing features to increase the speed of your Windows Vista system. It's the worlds first software for Windows Vista to combine both customization, tweaking and optimization features.

The main application of TweakVI together with 13 plugins is available completely for free. Additional plugins can be downloaded after subscribing.

Take a look at what TweakVI has to offer:

• Activate hundreds of hidden Windows Vista settings
• Clean your registry
• Activate system and software restrictions
• Display detailed system information
• Create a 256 MB RAM drive
• Protect your privacy
• Clean your harddrive
• Manage TrueType fonts
• Improve your internet connection
• Optimize your CPU
• Optimize your RAM

Download TweakVI Basic 1.0.1090 in Softonic

LiveStation is a peer-to-peer application that lets you watch watch television online. At the moment the selection of channels is limited to international news stations like BBC World, EuroNews and Al Jazeera along with two radio services: BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4.

The positive aspect of this software is that, being based on peer-to-peer technology, it virtually eliminates buffering time, meaning you won’t have to wait to watch the channels. The video experience is much more enjoyable than what you can get from a traditional streaming service because the data comes from many sources at the same time, reducing congestion problems. Every PC connected is both client and server.

Livestation requires Microsoft Silverlight to run, but don’t worry because during the installation it asks you whether you want to download it automatically.

The interface is simple but cool with smooth fade effects and once the channel is selected, the very high quality stream starts immediately. Unfortunately there is no pause button, nor any functionality for recording programs at certain times. That said, the application is still at a 'technical trial' stage so there is still room for these kinds of improvements.

If you have a fast internet connection you can always be updated on what’s happening around the world by watching the most famous international news channels with the light and usable LiveStation.

Download Livestation 2.1 in Softonic