Security is one of the main concerns among computer users. This is why it's important to count on reliable applications that can protect our system and data from potential dangers. Sometimes free security apps are regarded as being less safe but you might change your mind after testing AVG Antivirus.

AVG is one of the handiest antivirus systems I've seen so far (and believe me, I've tested a few). Being a smaller application, AVG may not feature such a wide range of tools or utilities as the other antivirus programs do. However, it makes up for it by offering a neat, effective protection which stays silently minimized in your system tray and only activates when needed.

This is precisely one of the best things about AVG. It works completely in the background, without the need of half the system resources and of course, without constantly bothering you with warning windows or update messages. You can just go on with your work and you won't even notice you have an antivirus application up and running. Being the free version of a complete program, AVG shows the odd nagging notification encouraging you to buy AVG Professional which may annoy the more sensitive users.

AVG features real time system protection, an email scanner (which doesn't prevent spam from coming into your mailbox though – spam filter is a Pro-only feature) and as new features in AVG 8, an anti-spyware tool and the so called LinkScanner technology to protect your web browsing. The whole package should be enough to ensure you're not infected with any virus. Also, it integrates seamlessly with Windows Explorer, thus allowing you to scan files from their context menus. AVG's virus database is automatically updated on a daily basis, so you're always protected even from the most recently discovered threats. The program supports scheduled scans as well.

AVG Antivirus remains a perfect security solution for the average computer user, providing quite a powerful weapon against viruses.

Download AVG Anti-Virus System Free Edition 8.0.173 in Softonic

Bittorrent and Gnutella might be hogging the headlines of the peer to peer (P2P) world, but close behind comes Ares, a successful P2P application that boasts of having its own decentralized network and a simple, quick access interface. Ares spun-off from Gnutella in 2002, and since then has been building a strong and dedicated community of users.

Installing Ares only takes a few minutes and the interface is simple enough that anybody will feel comfortable with it. The new version has a very sleek and dark interface, not unlike that of WMP 11. When you start Ares, it lets you auto scan your PC to find files you might like to share on the network. Beginners will be relieved to know that there is no complex configuration process involved. Once Ares is installed, all you need to do is select the search tab and type the name of the file you want to download. Once it appears, double click on it to begin downloading. You’ll be able to check its progress in the transfer tab. The recent update adds bittorrent support, opening Ares up to loads of new content.

If you enjoy exchanging words with other users, click on the chat tab and connect to one of the thousands of channels available. You can pick up tips on how to use Ares better, ask which files other users recommend or just chit chat about your life in general. You can even insert emoticons into your conversation and keep a list of your favorite chat channels.

Of all the P2P programs, Ares probably features the widest preview screen. You can set it to fit to screen or adjust it to your preference. This is a great way of making sure you’re downloading the right movie or to get a sneak peak at your downloads.

Unlike WinMX or FileNavigator, the two other spin-off Gnutella projects, Ares did not drop into obscurity and unites a flourishing community of users. However, the same old problems usually seem to arise. According to many Ares users the application suffers from constant connectivity troubles making it difficult to properly search for a file or to successfully complete downloads. Others will worry that Ares is a much smaller network than the globally used Gnutella and does not offer quite as much download sources.

Ares is an ambitious project, and the fact that it still remains standing while eDonkey has fallen at the hands of the RIAA, is characteristic of its reliability. Thanks to a strong community of users, a simple interface, a great preview page and multichat service, Ares remains a P2P application of choice for anybody interested into sharing files over the internet.

Download Ares Galaxy 2.0.9 in Softonic

Future Pinball is a real time Pinball Development System.It allows you to design and play your very own pinball simulation in True real time 3D. It uses Advanced Physics to provide the best possible Simulation of a true to life pinball machine.

Tables are built up out of Standard components (Plastics, Pegs, Bumpers, Lights etc..) which are placed onto the playfield via the Editor. Objects like Surfaces, Lights and Rubbers are shapeable within the editor and generated real-time when the table is played. Other objects (Bumpers, Flippers, Gates, Triggers, Targets etc..) use pre-made 3d Models
(of which there is a nice selection of each type).

The Table logic is scripted in Visual Basic Scripting (via the Microsoft Scripting Technology's built into Windows XP). Scripting is designed to be simple but flexible enough to allow a wide vararity of Original Games to be created. Only a limited subset of the Visual Basic Scripting Language is used as a lotof extra functionality is provided by the game engine.

Full Sound / Music Support is also provided with multiple Music Channels to allow cross fading.

Download Future Pinball 1.8 in Softonic

Shareaza started out life as the legendary Gnutella network but today is one of the most realistic competitors to eMule.

Shareaza is a completely free peer to peer (P2P) file sharing system. The program features Multi-Network Support which basically means it can connect up to 4 separate Peer-to-Peer networks at the same time meaning more hits and faster downloads.

You can download and upload from the EDonkey2000, Gnutella, BitTorrent and Gnutella2 (G2) networks. The latest release features something called "Collections" too. Collections basically group previews of album covers, descriptions, and song lists all in one complete package. It's designed to help you discover similar music to that you already like although in reality, it's not that useful. The interface is very simple to use - very much like eMule. All the search results are displayed clearly including file type, size and estimated download time. You can also choose to filter searches by file type such as picture, video or software.

Shareaza is one of the best P2P networks out there although it still pales in comparison to eMule in terms of results and download speeds.

Download Shareaza 2.4.0 in Softonic

Do you get bored frequently of your desktop background or wallpaper? If variety is your thing - and they say variety is the spice of life - then this might be for you.

Any Wallpaper works by allowing you to set up a list of folders containing your favorite images that the program will rotate through on your desktop. Any Wallpaper lets you change the background when you decide, every set number of hours or minutes or at a random timescale of your choosing. The program isn't very flexible in terms of the formats it supports but it does handle BMP, JPEG and PNG files. It can automatically search wallpaper folders (including subfolders), search through random or sequential selections of wallpapers and add a wallpaper change on Windows startup. The program also offers additional wallpaper positions that allow you to fit backgrounds horizontally and vertically but it also auto detects the best size and position according to your screen size.

A very useful little program for all those that get bored with same old desktop background every day but needs to support more formats.

Download Any Wallpaper 1.1.1 in Softonic

There are many necessary evils in this life including queues, rain, and, perhaps most annoyingly for computer users, RealPlayer.

The latter of the three has traditionally been cursed for its slow buffering times and the fact that it comes rammed with all manner of obnoxious advertising and intrusive web links. Unfortunately the application has always been the only tool available to play streaming media files in the rather arcane RAM format, in which many sites still insist on encoding their video and audio in. Luckily, there’s a saviour around these days, in the shape of Real Alternative, which is designed to play these files with less hassle.

The program is a streamlined advertising-free application designed to easily play most media content, including RealAudio (.ra .rpm), RealMedia (.rm .ram .rmvb .rpx .smi .smil), RealText (.rt), and ReadPix (.rp) formats, along with as non-Real media content such as MP3s, MPEGs, AVIs, QuickTime movies, and CD/DVD content. You can also use the program to stream media embedded in web pages.

In terms of performance, Real Alternative beats the pants off RealPlayer, and for that matter, Windows Media Player, playing all the files we tested smoothly and virtually instantaneously. The app contains enough features to keep more serious users happy, including the useful ability to bookmark favorite files, adjust volume in the window, track progress of the file, and more. Although not as quite as fully loaded with tools as its more established rivals, we can live without all manner of channel guides and visualizations in exchange for a much slicker playback experience.

There are some areas where Real Alternative falls down, such as its inability to handle .smi files or its lack of support for CDDB look-ups. But if you’re looking for something that will play audio and video quickly and without interruption, you can’t fault Real Alternative. There are programs, such as KMPlayer, which also offer superior playback quality, but Real Alternative excels in the way it handles streaming media, making it a worthwhile addition to your PC’s arsenal of programs.

Download Real Alternative 1.9.0 in Softonic

The little known programming language Logo isn't know for its power but it can actually produce some pretty decent 3D models - and it's a hell of a lot easier to learn than most languages.

Elica is specially designed for Logo programmers who want to creating impressive 3D animations, object-oriented programming, visualization and mathematical games for educational purposes. Elica features all the standard things you expect in a programming environment such as syntax coloring, comprehensive help file and in this particular environment, a very powerful graphics engine to handle 3D modeling.

From the developer's website, it mainly seems that Elica has been used by Logo programmers to create simulations of artificial life to mathematical games like Tangram and Towers of Hanoi. You can take a look for yourself in the Elica Online Museum exactly what the program is capable of and it's safe to say you'll probably be amazed by some of the results.

If you're a Logo programmer or have been thinking about 3D modelling or design, you should definitely get to know Elica.

Download Elica 5.6 in Softonic

LAME originally stood for LAME Ain't an Mp3 Encoder. LAME started life as a GPL'd patch against the dist10 ISO demonstration source, and thus was incapable of producing an mp3 stream or even being compiled by itself. But in May 2000, the last remnants of the ISO source code were replaced, and now LAME is the source code for a fully LGPL'd MP3 encoder, with speed and quality to rival all commercial competitors.

LAME is an educational tool to be used for learning about MP3 encoding. The goal of the LAME project is to use the open source model to improve the psycho acoustics, noise shaping and speed of MP3. LAME is not for everyone - it is distributed as source code only and requires the ability to use a C compiler. However, many popular ripping and encoding programs include the LAME encoding engine.

Download LAME (Lame Ain't an MP3 Encoder) 3.98.2 in Softonic

If you've ever tired to stick to a diet, you'll know how hard it is to make sure those calories are not tipping the scales.

iDiet is a diet software that can help you choose, customize and follow a diet that's suitable for the kind of diet you want to follow. It supports several of those most followed diets including Atkins, Summer Fresh, The Zone, Body for Life, etc. and helps you tailor them for your needs.

Note, however, that iDiet is aimed at American users so all protein and dietary requirements are tailored to the United States Department of Agriculture National Nutrient Database. With iDiet, you can keep track of daily intake of the basic nutrients such carbohydrates, proteins, and fats as well as some additional ones like fiber, water and sodium. iDiet also gives useful health advice based on your own personal requirements taking into account any special dietary requirements you may have.

iDiet can help you control your calorific intake and follow much more closely a diet that you've been struggling with for years.

Download iDiet 1.0.4 in Softonic

Singing your favourite songs aloud, especially when nobody sees you, is one of those little pleasures in life. But you obviously need to know the lyrics to the song you're trying to follow, something you can easily find with MiniLyrics.

This plug-in includes one of the most impressive lyrics database I've ever seen in my whole life as compulsive MP3 collector. It launches simultaneously with your music player, which is probably found among the 15 players supported by MiniLyrics. Then, just click on the Play button and the program will automatically look for lyrics, based on the information provided by the file's tags.

During our tests, the program found the lyrics to every single track we played, including English, Spanish, German, Italian and even Japanese songs. Also, in the few occasions the program didn't find the proper lyrics, we were able to download and display them is less than 30 seconds.

On the downside, MiniLyrics displays a nag window every time you launch it and another registration reminder on top of each lyrics file, but that's a price I'm willing to play to be able to sing almost any of the 4,300 files in my Winamp playlist.

Download MiniLyrics 6.0.3715 in Softonic

Spam Terrier sits between your email server and your email client, working as a powerful filter to prevent all those spam messages from reaching your inbox. Although we didn't have the time to test it thoroughly (it would have taken days to check its accuracy) we certainly could see that this is a very polished and promising tool that can help you in your personal battle against unsolicited messages.

Spam Terrier is seamlessly integrated into your e-mail client as a toolbar from which you can mark messages as spam or non spam. The program does require some prior training but this can easily be done by means of a wizard and the messages you already have in your inbox. The program also enables you to create white and black lists (for approved and banned senders respectively) as well as decide what to do with spam messages.

Download Spam Terrier 2.0.164 in Softonic

If you just can't get enough of Facebook then the Facebook Toolbar for Firefox is a free extension that gives you enhanced access to Facebook from Firefox.

Facebook Toolbar sits quietly at the top of your browser and provides twelve essential shortcuts to different sections of Facebook i.e. profile, friends, photos and groups. It also
features several icons to show you how many friend requests you have, messages you've received and invitations to events and groups.

One of the handiest features of Facebook Toolbar is an alert system similar to an IM client that tells you if there has been any activity on your profile since you last logged on. The problem with this, if you've got lots of friends, is that it's constantly alerting you and can be a real distraction while you are working. You can even have a sidebar of your friends faces staring at you as you work although that's taking it a bit far in my book.

Facebook Toolbar a seriously addictive toolbar that can easily distract you from your work but if you can't get enough Facebook in your life, then you'll love it.

Download Facebook Toolbar 1.2.1 (Firefox) in Softonic

When I was younger I used to spend hours hanging around in chat rooms and meeting new people from all over the world.

Today I've had the chance to chat again, but in a slightly different way. I've used Weblin, a very original software app that works together with your web browser, enabling you to chat with the people who are visiting the same webpage as you. Also, your chat personality is more than just a plain nickname: it's a fully animated avatar that walks around the bottom bar of your browser window.

At the beginning it may be difficult to find people to chat with, but you can start by the program's "topcloud": a list of the most populated webpages that you can access from Weblin's icon in the system tray. Following this method I soon met some nice people on Youtube and had a short chat with them. Conversations can be held via text balloons or standard chat window, but I wasn't sure which one to use. On the one hand balloons behave in a strange way, as the text you send is not erased and you have to delete it before writing again; on the other hand, the chat window takes way too much space and it doesn't let me read webpages properly.

After chatting for a while, I started browsing Weblin's website and I was surprised to discover a highly detailed customization menu for your personal profile and avatar, which can't be found on the program's settings. So once you've registered your account, be sure to visit the site and explore it for yourself.

Generally speaking, I found Weblin a very original chat app where you can have fun and make friends. On the downside, having a dozen avatars sitting on a certain webpage really disturbs your web browsing.

An original way to chat with other people in your web browser, although certainly difficult to combine with actual web browsing.

Download Weblin 2.8.2.1 in Softonic

If you work with two monitors you probably have some trouble with finding the right wallpapers for them and also with managing both of them properly.

With DisplayFusion these problems will be over. This neat tool makes double monitor handling much easier by providing you with a single interface where you can select new background images for your two screens, adjust the way they appear on the monitor and even look for more wallpapers on the web thanks to its Flickr integration.

DisplayFusion is very easy to use because it displays the wallpapers just as they'll appear on the actual monitors. Also, there's a wide array of options to adjust the photo size, position and aspect ratio. The program features a wallpaper timer as well, with which you can schedule an automatic wallpaper rotation – but unfortunately this only works in the Pro version.

One last tip: if you'd like to have more dual wallpapers to use in your two-monitor installation, have a look at Dual Screen Wallpapers, a wallpaper website specializing in widescreen images for two – or even more - monitors.

With DisplayFusion you can easily manage and customize wallpapers in two or more monitors, but if you want more extended functionality you'll have to switch to the Pro version.

Download DisplayFusion 2.1.1 in Softonic

Remembering passwords is never easy, especially with so many different sites requiring some kind of registration.

Password Memory 2009 encrypts and manages your passwords and helps you to log in to websites much more easily and quickly than having to enter them every time you visit them. Firefox already offers this option although Password memory 2009 is surely a much safer way of storing particularly sensitive passwords (such as for banking sites). In fact, Password Memory 2009 uses several different algorithms to guarantee a very high level of security.

The interface follows the same format as that of Microsoft Office and simply requires you to add passwords into a clipboard where they will then be automatically transferred into the right fields when you surf to that particular site. If you want a hard copy of your passwords, you can also export them to XML, HTML, text files and Excel in a few clicks.

Password Memory is a very powerful password manager that offers maximum protection and makes life a lot easier than having to remember passwords for each separate site.

Download Password Memory 2009 in Softonic

If you've ever dreamed of moving to the country and living the simple life, then Farm Frenzy 2 might give you a taste of what you can expect.

Farm Frenzy 2 sees you assume the role of a budding farmer who starts with nothing and must build a successful business by managing lifestock and producing goods to export for money. It's all set in a wonderfully colorful cartoon world with great sound effects and a cracking hillbilly-style soundtrack.

Farm Frenzy 2 starts with you rearing a few chickens to produce some eggs and the levels progress to the point where you own bakeries, factories and keep cows, pigs and other animals. Each extra level adds one more thing to think about than the last, whether it's shipping products into town, flying resources in by plane, or caging and selling the pandas (?!) that prey on your animals. After a few levels things can get pretty frantic.

Luckily, the controls in Farm Frenzy 2 are simple and largely require nothing more than pointing and clicking on a part of the screen you want to apply an action to (i.e. clicking the well to fill it up, clicking an egg to collect it, etc.)

After a while, Farm Frenzy 2 starts to get a little too difficult to keep up with and after playing a few levels your head gets a bit scrambled from all the fast-paced action, the infectious looping soundtrack and the sheer repetitive nature of the game.

Farm Frenzy 2 is very well presented and great fun to play, although enjoyment quickly turns to frustration as the levels get more hectic.

Download Farm Frenzy 2 in Softonic

There's nothing more annoying than programs that you can't uninstall or don't come with an uninstaller.

Normally, I use CCleaner's add-remove function to get me out this pickle but sometimes, not even that works. Advanced Uninstaller Pro helps you get rid of stubborn programs that simply won't appear in your add-remove programs dialogue. It can also scan your PC for files that have been left behind after you've uninstalled software that you no longer use.

When you run a scan, you'll be surprised by the number of files that have been left behind (mostly registry entries) but also unnecessary folders, obsolete files, and graphics. In the worst cases, they can leave behind spyware that can make your life hell. Advanced Uninstaller Pro can uninstall many of these files and using it is as simple as selecting its name from a list, or dragging and dropping a file or a shortcut onto the Advanced Uninstaller Pro desktop icon.

It can't remove everything but Advanced Uninstaller Pro can help clean up the nasties that programs leave behind.

Download Advanced Uninstaller Pro 9.5.1 in Softonic

Automatic translators sometimes are real life-saviors, as they help us understand any text, no matter what language it's written in.

Multitranse is one of those translating applications, and one of the most completes I've seen – in terms of supported languages. Multitranse supports a total of twenty languages that you can freely combine with each other as source or target languages.

The first time you run the program you're presented with a short tutorial that shows you how easy is to use Multitranse. Then the only thing you have to do is writing the source text (or copying it from another app), selecting both the source and target languages and you're good to go.

However there's a bid downside to Multitranse and that is precisely translations themselves. I know automatic translators are far from good, but I've seen much better translations than these ones – and they're also generated by automatic apps.

Multitranse can be helpful when you need to understand the general meaning of a text written in a foreign language, but you shouldn't trust it much.

Download MultiTranse 5.0 in Softonic

It's not easy to get excited about the look of a PHP environment and editor but PHP Designer puts in more effort than most to create a stylish and highly usable one.

PHP Designer is a complete PHP IDE (Integrated Development Environment) and PHP editor that caters for just about all your PHP coding needs but it also applies itself to HTML, CSS and JavaScript development. The main aim of PHP Designer is to boost your productivity and make your life easier. However, because of this, it's aimed more at beginners than professional editors, although there's enough there to keep the latter interested too.

Probably the main bonus of PHP Designer is the intelligent syntax highlighting which spots errors as you type, meaning less head scratching at the end of a long coding session. This applies not just to PHP but to other languages as well. Of course, PHP Designer also comes with a debugger which can test scripts for errors and suggests possible solutions although as with all debuggers, the success rate can be hit and miss according to most users.

If you're looking for a good looking PHP editor that supports plenty of other languages too, then PHP Designer may well make your life a lot easier.

Download PHP Designer 2008 6.1 in Softonic

Managing passwords is a difficult and sometimes stressful ordeal if you've got hundreds of different ones for various sites but Lastpass makes life that bit easier.

Lastpass is basically a free password manager that makes your web browsing easier and more secure by bringing everything under one password. Lastpass can create strong passwords that protect all sites, meaning that logging into your favorite browser, network or secure network becomes a one-step affair.

Lastpass is particularly useful for those that want to work together securely in different locations because it allows you share credentials to log in via Lastpass. This includes those that are working on Mac and Windows platforms as it works across both. Of course, the big concern is security - if your Lastpass password is lost or obtained by someone else, it makes everything protected under it vulnerable. However, it does use SSL and RSA encryption so you should be OK.

Lastpass is a great way to manage passwords under one umbrella without worrying about remembering the access credentials to them all.

Download Lastpass 1.28 in Softonic