Chrome's outstanding features, like its download manager, incognito browsing mode and bookmark syncing, already make it a stand out app. In version 20, it adds a more new features, as well some tweaks that make it even more user-friendly.

New features

Being able to search directly from the address bar is one of the great things about Google Chrome. Now Omnibox, Google Chrome's address bar, will offer you various suggestions as you type. Depending on how accurate it thinks its results are, Chrome may even begin to pre-load a chosen page. Popular sites like Facebook and Twitter are now sure to load almost instantaneously.

You'll now also receive warnings when Google Chrome thinks a downloading file that might contain malware or something harmful to your PC. It does this by tracing the download's originating server and comparing it to sites on its blacklist. If you're concerned about privacy when it comes to Google looking at your downloads for potential malware, you can disable this feature within your browser preferences.

Updates and tweaks

Google Chrome introduces several smaller updates designed to improve the user experience. First, Google Chrome has improved page zooming to make it more consistent with other browsers - you can now zoom up to 500%. In addition, Print Preview no longer shows up in its own tab but rather appears in a highly-configurable modal window - this improves your workflow and makes printing even quicker. Google Chrome's History tab has also undergone a redesign. It now allows users to filter out or even remove specific domains you don't want showing up there.

There's also been an update to the V8 JavaScript engine and more than a dozen security fixes. In short, these changes make browsing even quicker - and using the internet even safer.

In addition, version 20 helps with vulnerability greatly, in that it covers patches for quite a few security-related bugs. Google Chrome's latest update will consequently help make your browsing experience even safer.

Chrome extensions

Last, but not least, there are also changes for extensions - not only can you now count on a range of Google Chrome extensions that rivals (and in many cases betters) Firefox's, but those of you with a more technical bent can take advantage of improved extension APIs, so if you've got an idea, it's even easier to make it into an extension yourself.

If you're considering making the switch from old favorites like Firefox or Internet Explorer, we'd wholeheartedly recommend Google Chrome as the browser of the future!

Google Chrome, Google's browser, mixes a clean, minimalist interface with a variety of powerful tools, making it a great browser.

Download Google Chrome 27.0.1453.93 in Softonic

Windows Movie Maker 2012 is the stand out application of Windows Essentials 2012. This basic video editing tool remains great while offering a few new, useful features.

Windows Movie Maker 2012 takes advantage of hardware acceleration, which will speed up video exporting and encoding. There is also a new video stabilization feature, which will be a boon to those with cameras that don't offer this feature. Videos now output to h.264 by default.

The interface of Windows Movie Maker 2012 has stayed the same for the most part but integrating audio is easier as you can now look up music from services like AudioMicro, Free Music Archive, and Vimeo Music Store. The video timeline also features a wav form so you can easily see where audio is placed within the video.

Overall, Windows Movie Maker 2012 is a great update to an already great video editor.

Download Windows Movie Maker 2012 2012 16.4.3508.0205 in Softonic

Features

Mozilla Firefox 18 is the latest version of the popular web browser and brings with it a few key and welcome new features. First among them is the company's claim to a speedier, safer browsing experience. Tests reveal that this newest version of Mozilla Firefox is certainly quick to load even the most graphics intense pages.

Firefox 18 also now features secure connections when performing Google searches to improve privacy and there's an updated site identity indicator in the URL bar. Windows users also now get silent updates while Mac users on Lion or above can use Firefox in full-screen mode.

Mozilla Firefox's new tab layout itself is a pretty noticeable new feature. Quite similar to Google's Chrome browser, instead of seeing a blank page whenever a new tab is opened Firefox users will now be treated to icons that offer quick access to everything from bookmarks to most recently accessed and most frequently visited sites.

These icons are fully customizable in Mozilla Firefox as well. You can click and drag them to any spot you like on your name tab's page. If you're not a fan, you can also go to the grid icon on the upper right side of your browser and erase them entirely.

Something completely new to Mozilla Firefox is Facebook integration. Firefox now supports Facebook's social API so you can have dedicated buttons for Facebook in your browser. Mozilla Firefox supports Facebook's Messenger within Firefox, giving users desktop notifications as well as a persistent friends list and activity feed on the right. Conversations will open up as overlays on top of whatever website you're on so you can multitask while you chat.

Usability

Mozilla Firefox really changed the way people browse the web when it originally burst onto the scene. Today Firefox remains an incredibly powerful and customizable browser, although competition from Google Chrome has given it a definite run for its money.

Conclusion

Mozilla Firefox 20's interface isn't much different from previous versions, but the features it has added certainly make for a nicer, more enjoyable browsing experience overall.

What's new

For full release notes, please visit https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/20.0/releasenotes/

Download Mozilla Firefox 21 in Softonic

Features

avast! Free Antivirus is loaded with tons of features. From the home tab you can gain quick access to your system status, virus scan, software updater, stats, and the market. Features like the firewall and SafeZone require a premium subscription.

The software updater that's included with avast! Free Antivirus alerts users about outdated applications that are installed but only offers a link to the program page to download the latest update. Paying for a premium subscription will allow you to update your apps within the application. There's even an option to update automatically in the paid versions of avast!

avast! Free Antivirus offers more than just virus protection. The application also includes "cloud services," which gathers information from other avast! users to compare the reputation of similar files. These updates are constantly streamed to and from avast! so users don't have to worry about downloading updates.

New to avast! Free Antivirus is the Market where you can purchase additional features and services. The app itself is very good at reminding users how many features are missing so the Market makes it even more tempting to upgrade. Purchases can be made directly inside the application.

Usability

Using avast! Free Antivirus is very straightforward. Features and sections of the application are clearly marked with short explanations about what each feature does.

Like with many other antivirus applications, the amount of options and features is a little overwhelming. There are icons in the Security tab that are clearly marked with a green status light indicating everything is working as it should. This makes it easy to see what parts of the application require user action.

For the most part, avast! Free Antivirus is an application that you can configure and forget about. The program will display a popup if anything needs your action.

Quality

avast! Free Antivirus is well designed with tons of features. While it's not as simple as it could be, it works well and is completely free. It's nice that avast! Free Antivirus doesn't include an annoying tool bar, but it does install a web extension to monitor malicious links while you're browsing.

While avast! Free Antivirus excels as an antivirus application, it doesn't do much in the way of being a one-stop-shop for all your computer maintenance needs. Other apps like IObit's Advanced Systemcare with Antivirus offer more features that will make sure your computer is running its fastest.

Scans were performed quickly but not the best we've seen. This really depends on your hardware and how many files you have on your computer.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, it's easy to see what avast! Free Antivirus remains at the top of our download charts. The amount of features that free users have access to is amazing. While it's annoying that the app nags you to upgrade to a paid subscription, it's a small price to pay for a well designed antivirus solution that's completely free. Now if only avast! could include some computer maintence features.

What's new

Download avast! Free Antivirus 8.0.1489 in Softonic

Visually appealing

Traditionally here at Softonic we have a lot of time for avast!, so we were really excited to get a look at the newest version. For starters, it looks really slick, with a slim-lined installation process (which looked good, but still took a while), and a very user-friendly and clear interface. While the interface is similar to avast! 6, it's got many more options, something you'll see as soon as you open it.

Good installation options

Another nice addition that you'll notice when setting up avast! 7 Pro is the option to install as the second line of defense on your computer. There are also plenty of installation options, which allow you to get the most from your anti-virus before it's even installed. Of course, there's also a default installation if the nitty-gritty's not for you.

Security improvements

What else does version 7 add to avast!? Well, in the first place the developer assures us that there have been considerable updates on a security front, which is obviously what you want from an anti-virus. It also offers a nice Statistics module, as well as a comprehensive Support function that allows you to general a support package to send to the avast! personnel who are trying to troubleshoot your problem.

New features

Two especially useful new functions are the AutoSandbox feature and the Remote Assistance. AutoSandbox allows avast! 7 Pro to automatically place any program it deems suspicious inside a sandbox, so it cannot do damage to your computer. You can edit the programs that are excluded from this behavior in the general settings.

Remote assistance

Remote Assistance is much as it sounds, but it's a great feature to have. This allows you to either connect to or be connected to by another user, so that you can help them with computer problems or so that they can help you (especially when tech support personnel are involved). Obviously, both of you will have to have avast! 7 Pro installed, but it's a feature we can see coming in really useful.

avast! has always been one of Softonic's favorite anti-virus suites, and version 7 of avast! 7 Pro is no exception. It's awesome!

Download avast! Pro Antivirus 8.0.1489 in Softonic

Avira Free Antivirus 2013 is the free – for personal use – version of Avira Antivir Premium; this means there are a few advanced features unavailable, like the virus filter for email or for web browsing, but the program is as powerful and efficient as its big brother.

Avira Free Antivirus 2013 installs in a few seconds and starts protecting your system in real time right away. It includes all the tools and options you would expect from an antivirus these days, such as different types of scan, support for scheduling, automatic updates, and a quarantine area for suspicious files.

On the downside, Avira Free Antivirus 2013 is let down by a somewhat rough interface that feels like it was designed ten years ago and never restyled: simple to use, but too plain.

Looking for an efficient, uncomplicated antivirus tool? Avira Free Antivirus 2013 may be a good choice.

Download Avira Free Antivirus 2013 13.0.0.3640 in Softonic

Nokia Ovi Suite is very simple to install, thanks to a helpful, step-by-step wizard that guides you through the process of hooking your phone up. The main menu consists of a series of bright, bold icons offering a gateway to some cool features. The functions you'll probably use most are the backup and restore and file transfer tools, which run quickly and without fuss.

But the additional features of Nokia Ovi Suite are what really make it stand out. For instance, you can synchronize your phone and PC calendars, install apps onto your phone, access mail, maps, images, contacts and more. Everything can be done either via Bluetooth or USB cable.

Providing your device is compatible with the software, Nokia Ovi Suite is an essential tool for managing your phone.

Download Nokia Ovi Suite 3.8 in Softonic

Looking like a classic DJ set-up, with a mixer and two decks, Virtual DJ will be instantly accessible to DJs and newcomers alike.

Features

You can sample and loop tracks live, add effects, and there's a very natural-feeling scratch mode. For the adventurous, there's a lot you can add to your mixes with Virtual DJ.

Usability

Quality

Virtual DJ is accessible to beginners and packed with extra features. The downside of the software is that it sticks too much to what a physical DJ setup is - other programs offer four decks and more user-friendly interfaces - small knobs may be great for your fingers, but they're less use on a screen.

Conclusion

Download Virtual DJ Free Home Edition 7.4 in Softonic

ooVoo is an elegant and powerful video conferencing and IM client that combines elegance with functionality.

Easy to use

Unlike some video conferencing applications, Oovoo is very easy to get running with your webcam and it can handle very high quality cameras - up to 2 megapixels, depending on the speed of your connection. During chats and video calls, you can add video effects such as sepia, blurring and morphing, something that sets it apart from other popular VoIP apps like Skype.

Outstanding Features

With ooVoo you can talk face-to-face with up to six people, add an ooVoo link to your blog or online profiles (so others can instantly add you to their contacts), send and receive video messages and, best of all, it's completely free. You will need to create an Oovoo account however, which, as registrations go, is fairly painless.

What's really nice about ooVoo, though, is the ability to place your contacts, and their video images, down the side of your screen in a sidebar simultaneously. This way, you can chat away to all of them at the same time and see them at once.

Set-up

Once you've started the setup process, you'll be asked to create an ooVoo username and password. You'll also be asked to add a few friends and contacts to your ooVoo account although if you don't know anyone using ooVoo, you can simply elect to send invites and hope that they sign up.

OOvoo’s an impressive video chat app, although it would be interesting to see how it performs when multiple users are trying have a video conference.

Download ooVoo 3.5.6.45 in Softonic

Similar to FrostWire and LimeWire

MP3 Rocket is very similar to FrostWire and the now-defunct LimeWire, so if you are familiar with them, using the app will be a piece of cake. Even if you are not, it’s an easy-to-use application and suitable for anyone who wants to start downloading movies, music and other content – as long as there are no copyright issues, of course!

Managed Via Tabs

MP3 Rocket is based on tabs that allow you to quickly access the search engine, lists of popular files and torrents, your library of shared files and even online TV, radio, games and chat. The downloadable content is all free, but the ones suggested by MP3 Rocket are often links to pay-access web pages.

Poor quality audio and video player

MP3 Rocket can also be used as an audio and video player, but judged on these features it’s not very interesting and offers nothing that really make it stand out.

Conclusion

Ultimately MP3 Rocket is a solid app, although we’ve heard complaints in recent times that it’s no longer as reliable as it once was. Also bear in mind that as MP3 Rocket is Java based, it’s not suitable for older PCs. Overall, MP3 Rocket is a solid, if not awe-inspiring, P2P network client.

Download MP3 Rocket 6.3.4 in Softonic

Features

Usability

Whether you create a text from scratch or use one of the many templates included, Microsoft Word will help you with a wide array of tools: tables, text formatting options, color schemes, support to insert images and clipart and more. Microsoft Word also includes a powerful spellchecker and tools to revise documents with marked text and personal notes. Support for video, however, is still missing.

Quality

In all, Microsoft Word proves to be an excellent tool for text processing, from a simple note to a complex report with images, graphs and tables.

Conclusion

Download Microsoft Word 2010 in Softonic

Features

Being part of the Windows Live Essentials suite, Windows Live Movie Maker has to be installed through the Essentials package installer. Also, bear in mind that this version only works in Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Usability

Windows Live Movie Maker is dead easy to use. All you have to do is import the photos and videos you want to use, select the background music and add some titles and end credits if you want. The program displays extra buttons on the title bar that gives you access to configuration settings for video, music and text respectively. As regards effects, you also have plenty to choose from: transition effects, animations, zoom and pan, and also visual effects that will spice up your images.

Quality

When your video is finished, you can save it in different formats and sizes, depending on where you plan to use it on: computer, high-definition TV screen, mobile device, instant messaging client, etc. Windows Live Movie Maker also includes the option to upload it directly to YouTube, Facebook, SkyDrive and Flickr. The only drawback is that Windows Live Movie Maker saves videos to one single format: WMV.

Conclusion

With Windows Live Movie Maker you'll be able to create nice compositions with your favorite photos and videos, and share them with anyone.

Download Windows Live Movie Maker 2012 16.4.3505.912 in Softonic

What does BlackBerry Desktop Manager do?

The software allows you to install new applications, as well as synchronize contacts, tasks and messages between device and PC. There's also a 'Media' section in BlackBerry Desktop Manager for copying photos, video and audio; plus a Backup & Restore tool for managing the backup of your BlackBerry's data.

You can also use BlackBerry Desktop Manager to play around with your email settings. You can choose to forward incoming messages to your device, apply filters, and change your signature for outgoing emails.

Is it easy to use?

It's worth noting that the user interface within the BlackBerry Desktop Manager makes all these jobs really easy to perform. It's just a case of clicking on the right icon and following the steps in the wizard-style GUI. The only settings you really need to worry about in BlackBerry Desktop Manager are the connection and data folder options, which are pretty straightforward anyway.

The main downside to BlackBerry Desktop Manager is that it's a bit of a beast. The download is over 100Mb and the installation takes an age, but it's worth the wait. We also found the process of configuring a Bluetooth connection through Desktop Manager to be very awkward and long-winded.

If you want to backup, synchronize and share data with your device, BlackBerry Desktop Manager is the answer. It's also great for installing BlackBerry apps you download from Softonic!

Download BlackBerry Desktop Manager 7.1.0 B39 in Softonic

Easy installtion and configuration

Installing Ares only takes a few minutes and the interface is simple enough that anybody will feel comfortable with it. 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</strong> process - all you need to do is select the search tab and type the name of the file you want. Once it appears, double click to begin downloading. You’ll be able to check progress in the transfer tab. The recent update adds bittorrent support, opening Ares up to loads of new content.

Chat client

If you enjoy communicating 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 talk about your life in general. You can even insert emoticons into your conversation and keep a list of your favorite chat channels.

Detailed previews of files

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 seem to arise. According to many Ares users, the application suffers from connection problems that make it difficult to properly search for a file or successfully complete downloads. Others will worry that Ares is a smaller network than the globally used Gnutella and does not offer as many download sources.

Conclusion

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

Download Ares 2.2.4 in Softonic

Concept maps are a great way to organize projects, distribute tasks or even illustrate a term paper with a colourful explanatory chart. And now, with CMapTools, they're easier than ever to create.

This application helps you to design any type of relational charts, concept maps and other types of diagrams. It works in a very intuitive way: double click on the screen to create a new element and right-click on it to customize its appearance.

CMapTools exports charts to a variety of formats (XMl, PDF, HTML...) and also enables to share them on the Internet, although we found the connection to CMap servers a bit slow.

Download CmapTools 5.05.01 in Softonic

Full of features

Photoscape includes just about everything you need to view, optimize, edit, print and have fun with your photos. In fact, it's so complete that many would call it a free Photoshop alternative. Sure, it's not quite up to the level of Photoshop, but it's truly a great alternative to Adobe's big shot - and it makes photo editing a lot more fun!

Easy to use

From the program's main window you can choose what you want to do: view pictures, optimize those that didn't come out so well, print several photos on a single page collage-style or perhaps add any of the dozens of filters and special effects included in the program.

Smart interface

One of the first striking elements in Photoscape is its uncommon interface design. The application is very striking and in many ways it's easier on the eye than Photoshop.

Conclusion

There's really nothing negative to say about Photoscape. Just download it, test it, love it and keep it forever. It's free!

Download Photoscape 3.6.3 in Softonic

If you think that Microsoft Outlook 2013 would be getting some dramatic new features and improvements like the rest of the applications in the Office 2013 suite, you'd be wrong. For the most part, Microsoft Outlook 2013 remains much the same as the 2010 version. Here's what did change:

The entire app has a flattened look, which goes with the Windows 8 design language. The whole application is monochromatic, featuring lots of white and gray with the occasional blue accents. To me, this color scheme makes it hard to differentiate specific elements of the interface. There are no more icons and everything is text heavy. At the bottom, you'll find sections for mail, calendar, people, tasks and more. Gone are the buttons and icons, giving way to a minimalist text look.

There is a touch mode in Microsoft Outlook 2013, which brings up the same menus that it does in the other apps in Office 2013. There is a bar with frequently-used commands like reply, delete, move, flag and mark. This is great and gives Microsoft Outlook 2013 a good touch experience.

You can now pinch to zoom in the calendar to switch between day, week, and month views. If you are in any other section of Microsoft Outlook 2013 besides the calendar, you can now hover over the calendar section to bring up a pop up of the calendar and your tasks for the day. The calendar will also show weather information of your locale.

Microsoft Lync is still fully integrated into Microsoft Outlook 2013 so you can view a colleague's status and start an audio or video call right from within Microsoft Outlook 2013.

While the mail view is a bit difficult to read because of the monochromatic color scheme, Microsoft Outlook 2013's people view is much improved. Contacts will now pull in information from online sources like Facebook and Linkedin if you've tied these services with your Microsoft Account.

Microsoft Outlook 2013 will combine duplicate contacts, creating one contact card with consolidated information. If your contact has a picture, the picture will show up as a thumbnail next to the contact. It's strange that Microsoft didn't include this in the mail view of Microsoft Outlook 2013, which would help visually differentiate between different emails.

Even more baffling is the lack of threaded messages in Microsoft Outlook 2013. You'll still have to hunt for previous emails from a conversation. Oddly enough, Microsoft's own Mail app in Windows 8 and Windows RT features threaded messaging.

Another annoying change is Microsoft Outlook 2013's notifications. There's no way to dismiss them all in bulk so you'll be closing tons of alerts if Microsoft Outlook 2013 comes back online. Microsoft also got rid of the ability to act on an email from the notification, which was a very useful feature.

If you didn't like Outlook 2010, Microsoft Outlook 2013 won't win you over. While there are some useful new features, its bland interface and missing features make Office 2013 feel like an antiquated email client.

Download Microsoft Outlook 2013 15.0.4420.1017 in Softonic

As with most of the other applications that come bundled in Microsoft Office 2013, Microsoft PowerPoint 2013 includes a redesigned welcome page that's actually useful. You are given a list of recently-opened files on the left as well as a grid of templates to get started. You can also search at the top for more templates if you don't see one to your liking. Clicking or tapping on a template will give you a window to choose a variation of it.

As with most new releases of PowerPoint, Microsoft PowerPoint 2013 includes a bunch of new themes, templates, and transitions. Microsoft also included some basic photo editing features. You can choose a filter for the photos you import into Microsoft PowerPoint 2013. These editing features are basic and feel a bit like an afterthought. You'll still want to use a program like Photoshop to do heavy photo modifications.

Speaking of photos, you can now import both photos and videos from the internet. Microsoft PowerPoint 2013 integrates with the services you've linked to your Microsoft account. You can pull in video from YouTube and photos from Facebook.

Formatting photos and arranging them has improved in Microsoft PowerPoint 2013 as well. There are the new guides that are consistent across Microsoft's Office products. Microsoft PowerPoint 2013 is smart enough to show you how your graphics will be aligned with other graphics on the slide.

SkyDrive integration is in full effect in Microsoft PowerPoint 2013 so you can pick up working on your presentation from any device that has SkyDrive linked. There's even a PowerPoint web application to do some basic edits. You'll still want to use a computer or tablet that has Microsoft PowerPoint 2013 to do serious work.

New to Microsoft PowerPoint 2013 is the 'Presentation View,' which throws up a handy prompter screen on setups with multiple monitors. There is an elapsed timer so you can help pace yourself and not run over a certain time. You can have notes on the side of your slides so you won't be tempted just to read off of the slide. This happens all unbeknownst to people in the audience.

PowerPoint 2013 has received many updates that make it easier to use and continues to be one of the best applications for making presentations. Be sure to check out our in-depth look at PowerPoint 2013's new features here.

Download Microsoft PowerPoint 2013 15.0.4420.1017 in Softonic