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 in CCleaner Portable 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 3.19 in Softonic

WinHex is a universal hexadecimal editor, particularly helpful in the realm of computer forensics, data recovery, low-level data processing, and IT security. An advanced tool for everyday and emergency use: you can inspect and edit all kinds of files, recover deleted files or lost data from hard drives with corrupt file systems or from digital camera cards.

Features include:

* Disk editor for hard disks, floppy disks, CD-ROM & DVD, ZIP, Smart Media, etc
* Native support for FAT, NTFS, Ext2/3, ReiserFS, CDFS, UDF
* Built-in interpretation of RAID systems and dynamic disks
* RAM editor, providing access to physical RAM and other processes' virtual memory
* Data interpreter, knowing 20 data types
* Editing data structures using templates (e.g. to repair partition table/boot sector)
* Concatenating and splitting files, unifying and dividing odd and even bytes/words
* Analyzing and comparing files
* Particularly flexible search and replace functions
* Disk cloning (under DOS with X-Ways Replica)
* Drive images & backups (optionally compressed or split into 650 MB archives)
* Programming interface (API) and scripting
* 128-bit encryption, checksums, CRC32, hashes (MD5, SHA-1, ...)
* Erase (wipe) confidential files securely, hard drive cleansing to protect your privacy
* Import all clipboard formats, incl. ASCII hex values
* Convert between binary, hex ASCII, Intel Hex, and Motorola S
* Character sets: ANSI ASCII, IBM ASCII, EBCDIC, (Unicode)
* Instant window switching. Printing. Random-number generator.
* Supports files >4 GB

Download WinHex 16.5 in Softonic

Audio players usually feature a sophisticated interface full of buttons, lights and other types of eye-candy. But there's always an exception to the rule; in this case, it's foobar2000.

foobar2000 is exactly the opposite of what you would expect in an audio player. It features the simplest, most minimalistic interface you'll ever see in this kind of program. But don't get me wrong, because this doesn't mean you don't get any interesting functionality.

To begin with, foobar2000 is extraordinarily fast – it hardly took half a minute to index my huge music library – and extremely light on resources. You simply won't notice it's running. Also, as foobar2000 can be controlled with customizable keyboard hotkeys (or media keys, if your keyboard has them) you don't really to open the program's window.

Like I said, foobar2000 hides a bunch of interesting features under its simple appearance. It plays a dozen formats (the list of which can be easily expanded with additional components), features gapless playback, supports full Unicode, includes advanced tagging functionality and even lets you rip audio CDs and convert files from one format to another, provided you install the necessary plug-ins.

In all, foobar2000 would never win a design contest, but it's undoubtedly one of the lightest, fastest and most functional audio players you'll find.

If you value lightness and functionality over appearance in an audio player, don't hesitate: foobar2000 is the program you're looking for.

Download foobar2000 1.1.12a 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.

Download Trillian 5.1.0.19 in Softonic

If you install and uninstall a lot of applications, your registry and file system may be filled with little bits and pieces left behind from previously uninstalled programs. GeekUninstaller is a lightweight uninstaller that doesn't require installation, which means that it's a perfect portable maintenance tool.

GeekUninstaller impressed by finding registry files left over from previous uninstallations of applications from a long time ago. Uninstalling an app is as easy as double clicking. After uninstalling, GeekUninstaller will ask if you want it to search for leftover files, and then show you the exact registry files and folders it has detected.

The performance of GeekUninstaller is impressive. It uninstalls quickly and finds leftover files that even CCleaner couldn't. There are options to view a program's folder, website, and even to Google search a program if you don't remember what it is. There is also support for a plethora of languages.

Overall, GeekUninstaller is an impressive maintenance tool that delivers on both performance and features. Highly recommended.

Download GeekUninstaller 1.0.1.3 in Softonic

The best way to increase the popularity of your site or blog is to have regularly updated RSS feeds and to be visible where it matters, i.e. blog directories, search engines and RSS listings. RSS Submit makes it a no-pain, one-step process and ensures that you’re feeds are out there instantly.

There really isn’t any secret to this application; just type the url of your feed into the program window, click "Add" and lay back and watch as it crawls the web and offers your feeds to all major search engines, including Blogpulse, Daypop, Feedburner or Technorati. RSS Submit has up to 67 RSS listings available but if you haven’t found the one you want you can submit it yourself, thanks to the manual option. Unfortunately RSS Submit will not save new RSS search engines.

The most notable aspect of the application is the auto-discover option which crawls a website in search of all existing RSS feeds. Check out the feed analysis window on the bottom half of the program to verify feed titles and short description, word count and popular keywords. This is a quick way to preview your feeds and make sure that titles and descriptions are well-written.

RSS Submit is only designed for uploading feeds to engines and it takes care of the job well. To complement your RSS arsenal we suggest installing RSSBandit to read feeds, RSS Wizard to convert html to RSS and RSS Builder to create your own syndicated links. Getting your RSS feeds on major search engines isn’t the end of the road though, and if you don’t regularly add and update your content, you’ll quickly fall into the dark waters of the internet and all the work done by RSS Submit will have been useless.

Download RSS Submit 3.5 in Softonic

Its a rather complex application that's aimed strictly at those comfortable with complex maths but the advantage GeoGebra offers over similar apps is that it provides multiple representations of objects that are all dynamically linked. The idea behind GeoGebra is to connect geometric, algebraic, and numeric representations in an interactive way.

This can be done with points, vectors, lines, conic sections. GeoGebra allows you to directly enter and manipulate equations and coordinates enabling you to plot functions, work with sliders to investigate parameters, find symbolic derivatives, and use powerful commands like Root or Sequence.

However, the complexity of the program is mind boggling for those new to such mathematical applications. It's very difficult to work out how to use from scratch although there are several very detailed tutorials to help you on your way.

GeoGebra isn't a mathematical program for the faint hearted but if you have to deal with arithmetic, geometry, algebra and calculus on a regular basis, its very flexible.

Download GeoGebra 4.0.32 in Softonic

While the default Windows task manager is enough for most consumers, those looking for more features and controls will want to look to third party task managers to monitor their PCs. SterJo Task Manager is such a replacement and offers some very useful features that aren't included in the default Windows task manager.

All of the core features of a good task manager can be found within SterJo Task Manager. Users can get information about specific applications or processes, view Windows' services and kill programs. Where SterJo Task Manager differentiates itself is with the ability to show detailed network connection information, which allows users to pinpoint what ports and IP addresses are being accessed by each program.

SterJo Task Manager even gives users the option to pause, resume, or stop specific tasks. This makes it a powerful tool for troubleshooting suspicious activity on your PC.

Overall, SterJo Task Manager is a great tool for auditing a PC. While it's powerful, however, competitors like Task Manager DeLuxe offer more features.

Download SterJo Task Manager 2.2 in Softonic

aMSN is an alternative to the classic MSN Messenger, with more features yet a much weaker interface. The chat client looks very similar to Microsoft's product yet differs on a number of points. aMSN developers have delved into the preferences menu, adding extra little features like event alerts and sounds, conferencing support or autoaway messages. Like with MSN Messenger you'll be able to transfer files and organize all your contacts into groups.

Audio/Video support is the number one function that users look for in IM clients nowadays, yet an area which aMSN doesn't particularly focus on. Webcam support is fairly weak and unstable on aMSN, and instead of integrating into your chat window will open up in a new Quicktime window.

One of the biggest pet peeves of users with aMSN is the interface. It simply doesn't compare with more sleeker, more recent IM clients. To the developer's defense though you can download all sorts of skins from the program's website. Similarly it offers up a range of plugins, to customize your client to your liking. Chat addicts will also appreciate the animated emoticons on hand.

In terms of performance, you have to keep in mind that aMSN is still a Beta product, so still liable to some crashes and bugs. We did have some trouble when opening up new chat window and noticed that the client tended to use a lot of CPU.

In a few words, aMSN is a good alternative to MSN for users looking to add more plugins, skins and delve into the preferences menu.

Download aMSN 0.98.9 in Softonic

Download SmartWhois 5.1 build 265 in Softonic

In the unregistered version of FRAPS you can take 30 seconds of video, with a FRAPS watermark, and take screenshots in BMP format. In the full version there is no video watermark, and screenshots also come in JPG, PNG, and TGA format.

To use FRAPS, simply start the app before your game, and when the game starts, you will se a frame rate counter in the corner of the screen, great for benchmarking. Taking screenshots and video is hotkey activated. You can choose to take screenshots one at a time, or repeatedly with a given time gap.

For video, you can record with sound, and even with a microphone, so you can create your own walk throughs easily. Video production has the disadvantage of size - 3 minutes of video will be around 3GB, meaning you need a further application to change the format. However, FRAPS is very lightweight and shouldn't effect gameplay quality much.

As an all-in-one benchmarking, screenshot and video tool, FRAPS is hard to beat. It is lightweight and easy to use, with enough options to keep most users happy.

Download FRAPS 3.5.3 in Softonic

Flash animation is a technology that can all to easily be abused and there are numerous examples throughout the web where it has been used without justification resulting in non-accessible pages, annoying animations or amateurish-looking sites. On the other hand, when used correctly, Flash can add another dimension to your site, setting it apart from the masses and really giving the user a rounded and fulfilling experience. Text-Osterone is a library of text effects that you can easily configure much in the same way as the various transition effects of Microsoft PowerPoint.

The multitude of options may be daunting for inexperienced users but in reality the majority are non-essential and will only be called to action if a very particular result is sought. Thanks to an automatically refreshing preview window, each change you make can be checked before exporting and as a consequence the process of trial and error is much speedier.

The cracks begin to show however after you’ve checked out a few of the available effects. Since many of them are basic it seems like overkill to have a separate program to take care of them and would make more sense to get a copy of Flash Professional and build them from scratch. What’s more Text-Osterone, as the name suggests, has been designed to deal with text only. No options exist to work with basic shape animations, which might be handy if you want a corporate logo to feature.

Text-Osterone is a program that has been designed for those who have no experience whatsoever with Flash and as a result will more than likely produce substandard pages. As such, beginners can get a feel of what is possible and of course add more than just plain test to their site. It makes a good toy for those with curiosity but should not be used in an advanced setting.

Download Text-Osterone 1.120 in Softonic

CCleaner is a very efficient and easy to use utility that cleans and optimizes your PC to ensure best performance and freedom from malware.

The beauty of free download 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 uninstaller is probably more useful, and more powerful, than Windows own uninstaller although use it with care! If you don't know what an entry relates to in the program list, leave it alone to be on the safe side otherwise you could end-up removing vital components.

When you install CCleaner, it will prompt you whether you want to install Google Chrome as well and whether you want to use CCleaner to preserve cookies that you use regularly to log-onto websites, security checks etc.
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's uninstall and startup tools are very handy to have overall and simply add to the usability of this very rounded little maintenance assistant.

The most recent release of CCleaner now comes with a Drive Wiper. Drive Wiper can be accessed in the Tools section of CCleaner and allows you to choose whether to scrub only free space or an entire drive using three levels of strength - Department of Defense-level three-pass option, a National Security Administration-level seven-pass cleaning or a 35-pass Gutmann-level deep scrub.

There's also improved support for cleaning files left behind by Google Chrome and Internet Explorer 9. Web Apps that use HTML5 database storage are also now included in CCleaner's cleaning process. Finally, a few more System directories have been targeted for cleaning and CCleaner now supports 64 bit machines.

CCleaner makes keeping your PC clean easy for beginners and experts alike. It's small, fast, comprehensive, and free to download - get cleaning now!

Download CCleaner 3.19.1721 in Softonic

Although it might not be the most exciting way to spend half an hour, the moment will probably come when you need detailed information on your computer. Instead of wasting time rooting around in drawers and boxes for manuals and specifications, download Belarc Advisor and let it do it for you.

Belarc Advisor is a fairly simple program, at least in the way it works. When you open it, the tool scans your computer for all the information it needs. It does this relatively quickly, and informs you of its progress as it goes. Once it has everything, Belarc Advisor displays its results in your default web browser.

This is when Belarc Advisor starts to get a little complicated. One of the things the latest version of Belarc Advisor hasn't managed to do is to simplify or re-organize the results. Although the information is top class, very complete and well-explained, there is an awful lot of it, and new users might be overwhelmed. Don't get too downcast, however, because careful examination reveals a fairly logical presentation.

Although Belarc Advisor’s information covers everything imaginable, from network mapping and software versions to license keys and user accounts, almost all options have further rollover information, there is a guide to the symbols used in the report, and in some areas, such as system benchmarking, you can click though to new pages displaying both your results and explaining the tests.

Belarc Advisor will give you all the system information you ever wanted - and then some!

Download Belarc Advisor 8.2.7.10 g in Softonic

Depth of field is the distance between the nearest and furthest parts of an image. Photo Calculator allows you to avoid what the developer calls "the circle of confusion" by selecting the exact resolution you want from a list and Photo Calculator works it out for you.

Once opened, Photo Calculator simply requires you to configure the coordinates you require including Film Format, Units and Resolution and the results will be presented the moment you click "OK". There are no preferences or options however. Note that the aperture setting in this application is fixed by default to f8.

Photo Calculator is a very simple program that's low on aesthetics but high on functionality for photographers that need to measure depths of fields.

Download Photo Calculator 3.2.0 in Softonic

Prevent access via CRTL-ALT-DEL. Includes a log file to track activity and failed login attempts. Save log file locally or at a remote network location.

Use quick-launch icon to enable password protection anytime, or configure program like a screensaver to be enabled automatically at a preset time interval.

Supports dual-monitor system configurations.

Download Transparent Screen Lock PRO 5.5 in Softonic

Analyzing data packets is one way to monitor for problems in your network traffic or to detect connection problems.

Wireshark is a professional protocol analyzer aimed to help users in troubleshooting, analysis, software and protocol development, and education. All of the standard features you expect to find in a protocol analyzer are here but Wireshark also has a few added extras because it's open source and has been enhanced by it's community of users. The contribution of global networking consultants across the globe are what make Wireshark a particularly powerful analyzer.

If you don't have any network analyzing knowledge, Wireshark might make you feel a bit lost. The program does have an extensive manual and forum but unless you are familiar with protocol analysis, they won't mean much to you. For those that are in the know, Wireshark features deep inspection of hundreds of protocols, live capture and offline analysis and even VoIP analysis. Any captured network data can be browsed via an easy to use GUI or alternatively via the TTY-mode TShark utility. In addition, live data can be read from Ethernet, IEEE 802.11, PPP/HDLC, ATM, Bluetooth, USB, Token Ring, Frame Relay, FDDI, and others (depending on your platform).

Wireshark is a highly specialized tool that the average user won't find much use for but for any network administrators out there, it's an essential addition to your toolkit.

Download Wireshark 1.6.8 in Softonic

Highlights of the program:

* Delivers professional sound with crossfading, gap killer, beat matching, volume normalization and 5-band compressor/limiter
* Smartly handles large media libraries - sorting them into easy-to-manage categories
* Advanced playlist rotation logic and scheduling will make your station sound professional - even if you are not in front of your computer
* Advanced streaming encoders - able to encode MP3, mp3PRO, WM9 and Ogg
* Support for all major streaming servers, including SHOUTcast, Live365, IceCast, Windows Media and P2P Streamer
* View statistics in real-time: know how many listeners are connected at any time
* Interfaces directly with your website to allow automated song requests and improve the experience of your listeners by providing them with Artist, Title, Album, Cover art and other information on songs being played
* Generate additional revenue with Buy CD links

Download SAM Broadcaster 4.9.6 in Softonic

If you're a Vista fan but would like to tweak or enhance it even further then Enhance My Vista is an interesting application.

EnhanceMyVista is an easy to use but powerful enhancing, optimizing and tweaking tool for Windows Vista. The program is very easy to navigate with an extremely simple interface and some interesting tweaking options. The program also allows you to view technical data on the specifics of your hardware such as your CPU, graphics card and monitor. It features all the regular tweaking tools you would expect too such as a manage running processes list, analyzer and registry cleaner, defragger and cache cleaner. You can also give the program a look of your choosing with several natty little skins. In addition to all this, the program integrates very well into Windows own administration tools so that you can access them directly through Enhance My Vista instead of the control panel.

In terms of speed, this program doesn't really enhance Vista as much as the name suggests but as an all round tweaker and one stop control panel, it's superior to anything Windows Vista itself has to offer.

Download EnhanceMyVista 3.4.1 Free Version in Softonic

If you've ever wanted to make a screencast showing people how to do something, or just video what's happening on your screen, you'll need a screen capture tool like HyperCam. Simply install the application and you can start recording a portion or all of the action on your screen. There are record and play buttons on the HyperCam interface, of you can activate it via configurable hotkeys. Depending on what you need, you can specify a framerate, and highlight mouse clicks with a flash in the recorded video.

While HyperCam does do what it claims, it's not a very well designed program. You may find that video you record plays back at double the speed it should, without reason. Sound recording is also unreliable - on our Windows 7 systems, we were unable to record any sound, from music players, video files or browser video. We also found HyperCam to be a little unstable, and were disappointed that the default installation process doesn't put the app in your standard Program Files folder.

There are better screencapture tools around, like Fraps that are much more modern and better designed. HyperCam is a basic application that is in real need of a new version!

Download HyperCam 3.4.120.23 in Softonic