You can add new downloads from the Internet Download Manager interface, but it's more usual to let it capture links. This means that every time you click on a certain file type (which can be specified through configuration options), Internet Download Manager will handle the download itself rather than letting the browser do the job. Everything is automatic: no changing from one app to another, no copying and pasting, no hassle at all.

Once Internet Download Manager captures the link, you can either download the file right away or save it for later, which can be a good alternative if you need all of your bandwidth for the moment and plan to leave the computer on during the night. Downloads can be classified into custom categories before starting them and can also be resumed if the connection is lost or broken.

Speedy downloads

Internet Download Manager does accelerate downloads, although it all depends on your internet connection. That is, don’t expect to download at the speed of light if you’re still using one of those old-fashioned 56K modems. Internet Download Manager achieves quite satisfying download rates by using multiple thread connections with servers.

Internet Download Manager's configuration menu displays a wide range of functions and tools devoted to handling your downloads, such as checking files for viruses with your own antivirus or limiting the amount of bandwidth used by the program. There’s also support for server authentication and proxy, FTP and HTTPS servers.

Internet Download Manager does its job and does it well, so even if your internet connection speed is faster than usual, you should still give it a try.

Download Internet Download Manager 6.15.12 in Softonic

Angry Birds Seasons collects together an awesome eight seasonal variations on the game and packs them all in. There's Angry Birds Halloween, Mooncake Festival, St. Patrick's Day, Angry Birds Christmas and more. The game divides them up into 2011 and 2012 and, obviously, as 2012 hasn't started yet, the selection there is much more limited, with only 1 season on offer.

The Angry Birds Seasons gameplay is the same as it has always been. Fire the multicolored, multi-talented birds at the fortifications created by the evil green pigs in an attempt to send them crumbling down. The more pigs and items you hit, the more points you get and the faster your progress through the game.

Angry Birds Seasons isn't much different from the standard Angry Birds, but it sure is fun. The creator of the game, Roxio, obviously put a lot of effort into planning the seasons, and everything from the items to the music is pitch perfect. If you're a fan of the original, you'll love this.

Angry Birds Seasons for PC is the perfect download for Angry Birds fans!

Download Angry Birds Seasons for Windows 3.2.0 in Softonic

Features of uTorrent

uTorrent includes everything you would expect from a complete, reliable torrent downloader: highly detailed stats, support for RSS feeds, automatic shutdown, download scheduler and more. There are a couple things that uTorrent is missing though: a full torrent search tool and a built-in player to preview your downloads.

uTorrent 3 lets you play media in streaming as you download, rate and comment torrent files, drag and drop files to share them, and disable the UDP tracker.

Ideal for all user levels

Since version 3 uTorrent has sported a totally redesigned interface: more usable, easier to use and a perfect match for uTorrent’s web interface.

Just like previous versions, uTorrent 3 is easy enough to use for everyone no matter what their level of computer expertise is, but it also includes dozens of configuration settings that will please the most tech-savvy users. Also, this new version includes several beginner-oriented guides to make sure everybody can make the most of it.

Light on system resources

After a quick installation process (although there are quite a few prompts to install browser add-ons etc) and a handy built-in speed test to make the initial setting much easier, uTorrent is ready. The program takes up minimal hard drive and PC resources, which enables you to have a good amount of torrents downloading and still be able to use your computer without any lag.

Conclusion

If you're searching for a reliable, fast and lightweight torrent client, look no further: uTorrent is what you need.

Download uTorrent (µTorrent) 3.3.0.29677 in Softonic

Features

Thanks to a straightforward, uncluttered interface BitTorrent appears as a user friendly torrent client that beginners will feel comfortable with. We particularly appreciated the integrated search box to look for files on the BitTorrent website. Once you’ve found the torrent you want, download it to your PC, open it up inside BitTorrent and let the client do the rest. The speed at which you download will depend on the number of seeds, that is people who have the complete file and are sharing it. The more seeds there are the quicker files will download.

You can set multiple torrent downloads and the downloading speed is fairly quick. It’s easy to configure the client and we suggest choosing the right port and setting upload and download rate limits to avoid hogging your bandwidth. It’s also good to set your downloads by priority to monitor more precisely how your torrents are doing.

Using BitTorrent

The file you want to download is cut up into small segments shared by users, creating what is called a swarm, and does not go through a central server, significantly reducing the bulk of file transfers. The BitTorrent client is actually the first P2P application to use this technology and became immensely popular when it was released. Torrents are considered by online users as a great way to download recently anything from movies to operating systems.

Competition

Compared to the exhaustive Azureus, BitTorrent is very simplistic. It doesn’t provide half as many statistics and doesn’t let you customize the interface. Integrating a search box is a great idea, but it limits searches to the BitTorrent website, not considered the most thorough source by torrent aficionados.

Conclusion

If you’re a newbie to the torrent world, BitTorrent is a good bet. It’s safe, stable and sharp. Associated with the huge database of legal torrents that is the BitTorrent website, it makes for a very rich P2P experience. Advanced users will probably frown upon its lack of options but others should give it a try.

Download BitTorrent 7.8.0.29676 in Softonic

Set up

Like the game, Minecraft Server doesn't come with instructions and can be challenging for beginners. You can find a tutorial here. In essence setting up takes four steps:
1. Download Minecraft Server.
2. Execute and configure the server.
3. Check your Firewall settings.
4. Open the Minecraft game client and connect to your server.
Once you're up and running, your friends can join you using your computer's external IP address. Minecraft will then play as usual, but won't be such a lonely experience!

If you can put the time into setting up Minecraft Server, it can be a lot of fun. However, compared to most commercial games, it's incredibly complex!

Performance

The more players you have in Minecraft Server, the more resources it will consume - if your PC is not very powerful, you may notice some lag and fan noise!

Download Minecraft Server 1.6 13w19a in Softonic

Visually appealing

Traditionally here at Softonic we have a lot of time for avast! Internet Security, 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, and a very user-friendly and clear interface.

Good installation options

Another nice addition that you'll notice when setting up avast! Internet Security 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 8 add to avast! Internet Security? Well, in the first place the developer assures us that there have been considerable updates on the 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 generate a support package to send to the avast! personnel who are trying to troubleshoot your problem.

New features

Two especially useful new functions in avast! Internet Security 8 are the AutoSandbox feature and the Remote Assistance. AutoSandbox allows avast! 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.

SafeZone

avast! Internet Security 8's SafeZone is effectively an extension of the AutoSandbox features, but instead of allowing you to open files and run unknown programs, it provides you with an alternative desktop for sensitive transactions such as internet banking and shopping. As with the rest of avast! Internet Security, it's really easy to use - just click the large Switch to SafeZone button. If you'd like more control, you'll be able to tweak under the Sandbox Expert settings.

Firewall

Last but not least, avast! Internet Security's firewall is definitely worth a mention. Since for many users it's one of avast! Internet Security's most coveted features, you'll be glad to hear that it's been updated along with the rest of the program. With its 3 different risk zones and 5 different configurations sub-areas, even the most demanding users will be able to configure it to their liking.

We were expecting great things from avast! Internet Security 8, and it hasn't let us down. It's an awesome security tool, and thoroughly recommendable to any user.

Download avast! Internet Security 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

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 4.01.4093 in Softonic

As soon as your friends and relatives find out that you know a bit about computers, it's all over. They'll be asking you for help with the most varied tech issues on a constant basis, as if you were a permanent, free customer support service.

Luckily you can count on TeamViewer 6 to lend you a hand. TeamViewer lets you gain access to the desktops of your friends, relatives or even customers in a snap. What's more, it doesn't require any technical skills on the remote side, making it incredibly easy to use.

A bit like Online Desktop Presenter, all you have to do is run TeamViewer and ask the other person to run it as well. Each time you run TeamViewer you'll be given a unique session number and password which you can use to enter the other person's PC. This means TeamViewer can be used for both entering a remote computer and letting another person enter yours in case you need remote assistance as well.

Beside viewing the remote desktop just as if you were sitting in front of it, you can also make use of the program's features: embedded chat client, file transfer tool, the possibility of recording the session, and more.

This version of TeamViewer is a stripped-down version of the paid application and therefore lacks some extra modules and functionality. Nevertheless it's still a great helper when you need to fix small problems in remote systems or show someone else how to do a certain task on the computer.

TeamViewer is an excellent desktop sharing tool that lets you manage remote systems in a safe way and without requiring a lot of technical knowledge.

Download TeamViewer 8.0.18051 in Softonic

Video converters - there's more of them on the market that almost any other type of software, but very few of them impress. How does 4Free Video Converter hold up against accepted leaders, like
Format Factory and GOM Video Converter? Well, in short, 4Free Video Converter is good, but not great, like a good many of its contemporaries.

For a start, 4Free Video Converter is ugly. Really ugly. Whoever decided that sludge green made a good interface color was wrong - and there's no option to change it! That said, the color doesn't impact on the usability, so it's pretty easy to load videos up, decide where to save them, and pick the format you want to convert to.

The good thing about picking a format is that 4Free Video Converter has all of the options nicely arranged by both format and device compatibility, which makes it easier to choose. It also allows you to customize formats for your own specifications, but this feature seemed buggy, didn't always work, and wouldn't let us save any presets for future use.

On the upside, 4Free Video Converter does allow you to convert batches of videos, but it doesn't have an automatic shutdown feature, so you'll have to wait until they're finished before you go to bed. Also bear in mind that although it's called "4Free" Video Converter, this is a limited "freemium" app, and so some of the features you can see on the interface are not actually available.

4Free Video Converter - it's good, but not great, and misses all the nice touches that make the perfect conversion app.

Download 4Free Video Converter 3.3 in Softonic

Overview

Opera 12 keeps the general design and functionality of the highly-praised Opera 11, but adds convenient improved features like themes, web cam access and hardware acceleration. As for the the interface, Opera 12 features a slightly cleaner GUI with a focus on webpages instead of buttons and menus. Overall, Opera 12 isn't a huge change compared to the last version, but it has been improved with some nice new features.

Innovations and speed

The big innovation in the last version of Opera was extensions and while the choice of browser enhancements is still fairly limited, when you install or uninstall add-ons, you don't have to restart your browser. They are also sandboxed, so if one crashes, your browser won't. Opera 12 runs just as quickly as Google Chrome (the developer claims it's even faster) and the rendering engine has been tweaked slightly to offer an even faster browsing experience.

Visual Tabs and Tab Stacking is useful if you often have too many open, and there are now visual mouse gestures. These are well implemented, and accessed by holding the right mouse button which brings up a translucent guide to mouse gestures. This is a great introduction for people who've never used gestures, and hopefully allows for greater use in the future.

There's still an integrated mail client, which continues Opera's move towards doing everything you need in one application. The newest features or improvements of note are themes and web cam access. The most notable improvement has been to Speed Dial which instead of simply giving easy access to your favorite sites, now allows you to embed your Speed Dial with dynamic information - in other words, web apps within Opera. Meanwhile Password Syncing allows you to sync passwords across machines and devices - just sign-up for an account and Opera does the rest. There have also been some HTML5 improvements for developers such as Session History, Navigation and the W3C File API.

Conclusions

Opera 12 is a definite improvement on Opera 11 although the changes aren't revolutionary. However, if you're looking for a new browser, this is probably the most innovative currently on the market and is well worth installing.

Download Opera 12.15 in Softonic

For Windows users, keeping applications up to date can be a hassle. Some programs alert you to new updates, but wouldn’t it be better to have a single program that keeps an eye on all your software?

This is where Softonic comes into play. Softonic keeps a master list of applications and will query Softonic's database for updates, alerting you when an update for a program is available, quickly and unobtrusively in the notification tray. Click the 'update' button and the .exe will be downloaded and you can install it like a normal application. Softonic doesn't support uninstalling yet (but our development team tells us that this feature is coming soon).

Softonic's new application also includes full reviews of applications to help you decide whether an app is right for you. Access user reviews, screenshots, and videos, all within Softonic. Screenshots and videos show up beautifully.

Another nice feature of the application is lists. You can browse premade lists from Softonic's editors or you can make your own app lists and share them. Drag and drop applications into a list to keep track of them. These lists are synced when you log into Softonic, making it super easy to download your favorite apps on a new machine.

There are still a few features that aren't fleshed out but the program is solid overall. It would be nice to have a setting to automatically delete the installer files after installation. There's also no way to change your avatar within Softonic (but you can still do this on the website).

Overall, this new application from Softonic is a solid product that provides some very useful features. Softonic lets you keep your apps up to date, as well as helping you discover, research, and educate yourself on the best software found on Softonic.

Full disclosure: Softonic (for Windows) is an application developed by Softonic.

Download Softonic (for Windows) 1.4.9 in Softonic

Windows 8 Transformation Pack give you the look and feel of Windows 8 on older
Windows versions. The Metro design, themes, wallpapers, icons, sounds and other features can all be yours with this excellent free theme pack.

Features

Windows 8 Transformation Pack automatically installs several design changes and programs. The freeware comes with an imitation of the new Modern style and adjusts menus, cursors, screensavers and system sounds to emulate Windows' 8th version. You can also configure individual elements of Windows 8 Transformation Pack via the wizard.

Usability

Windows 8 Transformation Pack adds pizazz with its own Modern apps. By clicking on the tile store, you can manage programs and play mini updates or add extra apps. Standard elements include apps like Clock, Calendar, system settings, Gmail, Hotmail, Twitter, Facebook, Internet Explorer, Music and Photo Gallery.

Quality

Windows 8 Transformation Pack is a worthy successor to the popular Seven Transformation Pack. This early version of Windows 8 is a pretty impressive mimic. If Seven Translation Pack is anything to go by, as Windows 8 gets more advanced, so too will Windows 8 Transformation Pack, so keep an eye out for even more updates.

Conclusion

If you want a taste of Windows 8 on XP, Vista or Windows 7, download Windows 8 Transformation Pack asap!

Download Windows 8 Transformation Pack 7.0 (8TP) in Softonic

The K-Lite Mega Codec Pack is an invaluable resource for anyone looking to enjoy video and audio on their Windows PC. Frequently updated, it includes all the codecs available in three of the most popular codec packs available on Softonic.

As video and audio encoding develops, it can be really hard to keep abreast of the latest compression techniques and codecs. K-Lite Mega Codec Pack does this for you by putting pretty much every codec in use, on your computer.

The K-Lite Mega Codec Pack combines the contents of three codec packs:

• K-Lite Codec Pack Full
• QuickTime Alternative
• Real Alternative

Essential for anyone using audio or video apps on their PC.

Download K-Lite Codec Pack Mega 9.8.0 in Softonic

Multiplayer lets the game down

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 is not a subtle game. The story is silly, but takes you through lush jungles, to Sarajevo and mountains in Tibet. Some segments see you working with a Spotter, or supporting another team. In these parts you are guided through where to look and who to kill. How hard this is depends on the setting. Medium difficulty gives you a red dot that helps you allow for distance and wind when shooting, but this is removed on Hard.

The multiplayer portion is small. It sets two teams up sniping against each other. This makes game pretty quiet, as searching for other snipers is a slow, painstaking process. There really needed to be more creative game modes to make multiplayer worthwhile in Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2.

Playability

The controls are well handled. You can hold your breath, which momentarily slows time, allowing you to take a more accurate shot, and in general it plays like a standard first person shooter. The night and infrared vision modes are well done, but you rarely need to use them creatively.

While it never reaches Dishonored or Hitman levels, there is a puzzle element to watching and learning soldiers' movements, and it's fun to get through a level undetected. The good looking environments don't allow for much exploration, and there isn't the same level of fascinating detail like there was in Dishonored.

Quality

Enemy AI can be a little hard to predict. When you're sniping from a great distance, and being guided by your team, this isn't a problem. When you're fighting on your own, deciding which enemies to take down first doesn't always give you predictable results. If you are detected and rushed by a few soldiers, you will find the pistol woefully underpowered to protect yourself! You can take out an enemy very close to another without problem sometimes, but if you miss, generally you'll alert everyone to your position. But not always...

Conclusion

Apart from the dodgy AI, Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 is an enjoyable, if short, sniping adventure. It doesn't have the gory bullet cam of Sniper Elite:V2, but it's still a solid sniper game.

Download Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 in Softonic

What it does

The Lite version of DAEMON Tools only lets you emulate up to four virtual drives but doesn't have the extra features of the Pro and Advanced editions, such as support for DVD HD and Blu-Ray drivers, or the ability to create image files. However this version of DAEMON Tools is just perfect for the average home user, who will hardly need to emulate more than a couple drives simultaneously.

DAEMON Tools supports a wide variety of formats and is a really useful app for accessing your CD collection without having to carry them around, protecting them from scratches in the process.

Usability

Emulating a virtual drive may not seem that useful at first sight, but if you think about it, it has many advantages: you can load any image file directly on your system, you save the time and effort of CD burning and plus, virtual drives are much faster than actual CD units.

After installation – and the necessary system reboot – DAEMON Tools shows up as an unobtrusive icon in the system tray from which you can access the program's main tools and the configuration menu. All you have to do is browse to where your image file is stored and 'mount' it as a virtual drive using DAEMON Tools.

Hard working and reliable

DAEMON Tools supports a wide variety of formats and is a really useful app for accessing your CD collection without having to carry them around, protecting them from scratches in the process.

Conclusion

With DAEMON Tools you can easily emulate up to four virtual drives on your system, and mount a wide range of image files on them.

Download DAEMON Tools lite 4.47.1.0333 in Softonic

Having started out back in 1999, Counter-Strike Online is far from a cutting edge FPS game. Despite its age, and much like ID's Quake, the game survives due to its essential playability. It may not be sophisticated, but Counter-Strike Online is fast, fun to play, and has a massive community of players. Once you have a free account, it's easy to sign in and get shooting in moments. Its age means Counter-Strike Online runs smoothly on most PCs, as its requirements are really low.

Counter-Strike Online is played over a variety of maps, and is a team based multiplayer FPS. Players either join a team of terrorists or counter terrorists, and battle it out. To the Original mode, Death Match, and Team Death Match modes, there are additionally Zombie Mode 2, Zombie United Mode, Zombie Mode 3, Challenge Mode, Zombie Survival Mode and VIP Mode, some of which require micro-payments to unlock.

Counter-Strike Online is a classic FPS online multiplayer FPS, and deserves its place in history. while it looks its age, this version adds lots of fun add-ons and a dynamic community of players to get involved with.

Download Counter-Strike Online 0.56 b in Softonic

Thunderbird is Mozilla's award winning and free solution to manage your mail more efficiently. And there are many advantages of switching to it too. Unlike Mail for example, it can handle virtual identities and create on-the-fly addresses and it's widely regarded as having one of the best spam filters out there. Most recently, it's been updated with a slick tabbed interface to make managing your e-mail easier.

The fact that like Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird can be beefed up with all manner of extensions makes it an extremely competitive mail client. It's also now much faster and more stable than before due to the Gecko 5 engine.

Getting going

Setting up Mozilla Thunderbird is painless. You can quickly import your mail and contacts from your Outlook or Mail account and set up POP3, IMAP or SMTP accounts in a flash. To stay well organized, Mozilla Thunderbird offers filters to deliver your mail into separate folders and inboxes. And of course, there's a built-in spell checker to make sure that your mails are professionally crafted.

What makes Mozilla Thunderbird slightly more unusual is the fact that it comes with an integrated RSS reader. Nowadays, this is a little outdated because many people use a separate application - or even Firefox itself - to follow RSS feeds but it may be useful if you only want to mail and follow RSS feeds at the same time when composing mails.

Searching your mail

The search tool in Thunderbird is excellent and searches happen in real time as you type. Search results are displayed in a separate tab. Tabs in general are a very big part of Thunderbird and like Firefox, you can have multiple messages open in separate tabs. This is a fantastic feature of Thunderbird although does tempt you to have too many mails open at once. Archiving is also another handy feature for those that don't want to delete messages but want to clear space in their inbox.

So what about security? You might think an open-source mail client would inherently be less secure than a paid one but Thunderbird is surprisingly secure with a fairly bulletproof spam filter. The reason being is that Thunderbird is regularly updated and crafted by volunteers who's main interest is making a better product rather than profiting from an end-product. Security updates are regular but small so as not to slow-down Thunderbird.

Exchange support

One of the biggest selling points of Mozilla Thunderbird is that it offers Microsoft Exchange support, meaning it will appeal to Office users who previously discounted it.

On the downside, the app is lacking some finesse in certain areas. Thunderbird still doesn't have conversation style email views like in Gmail (although an extension to do this can be downloaded separately) and there aren't many options for managing attachments and photos. There's also no calendar but again, this can be downloaded separately in the form of "Lightning".

Overall, Thunderbird is an excellent free alternative to Microsoft Outlook.

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Download Mozilla Thunderbird 17.0.4 (en-US) in Softonic