Free software download

Are you looking for a simple, modern looking signature to add to your forum posts? Here’s an easy way to create a coloured bar where you can tailor the background colours and lines and add the text you prefer with either your name or your preferred motto.

UserbarGenerator let’s you choose from many options, all available in the main program’s frame, but in different tabs. From Style, Background and Text there are many ways you can tailor your personalized bar. Tick the “Use Scalines” options if you would like to add graphic lines on the background of your bar, modify their intensity and try to see how the reflection tool would look like on your bar. In the background section you can either change the start or end colours of your bar, together with the vertical or horizontal gradient type. The Text tab follows – simply add the words you would like to appear on the bar and select their horizontal and vertical position. Once finished, simply click on the last step to save your user bar as a PNG file, ready to be added as signature on your forum posts.

If you need a user bar, not particularly complex but easy to create and modify, try UserbarGenerator to tailor your motto or name in an effective way.

Review by Francesca Migliorini

Feniks Windows

Creating new passwords every time I register for a online service is getting harder and harder. But before starting to use the same word everywhere and thus compromising my security, I’d rather use a password manager.

If you’re in the same situation, Acebit Password Depot is probably your best choice. This comprehensive manager can handle all the usernames and passwords for all kinds of services, from online banking to FTP servers, including forums, blogs, email addresses and just about any other place where you’re requested a password.

All your passwords are stored in a single database that can be saved in various locations (local drive, USB device, Internet server) and protected with a master password, a key file or both. You can organize your passwords in different categories and also assign an expiry date to them so that you’re forced to change them on a regular basis.

In case you run out of ideas when coming up with new passwords, the program includes a password generator but I didn’t find it that useful: it grabs characters from a Matrix-like code stream and doesn’t really produce usable passwords.

Acebit Password Depot still keeps an ace up its sleeve though: its seamless integration with your web browser, which enables you to manage passwords comfortably while you’re browsing the Internet without having to change from one application to another.

Acebit Password Depot is as near to perfection as any password manager would like to reach: easy enough for the beginner and full of handy tools for expert users

Review by Elena Santos

Feniks Windows

Those of us who work with the PC on a daily basis usually waste too much time browsing through the file structure in Windows just to find a given file or select the appropriate location to save a document.

Fortunately now there’s Direct Folders: a simple yet highly functional tool that works as a Windows Explorer enhancement and lets you access your more frequently used folders from any standard file dialog in the system, and also from Windows Explorer itself. You can launch Direct Folders in several ways: from the program’s icon on the System Tray or simply by left double clicking on any empty area in the desktop, Windows Explorer or any open/save file dialog.

The folder menu is easily customizable with your favorite folders in the program’s settings menu. Plus, this same menu enables you to take advantage of other Direct Folders functions, such as enlarging file dialogs to make them easier to use and customizing the folders that appear on the places bar along the left side of Windows open/save file dialogs.

On the downside, the program still keeps some of its goodies for a pro version. In any case, this free version doesn’t feel crippled at all and helps a lot when browsing your system’s file structure.

With Direct Folders you can improve the way you work with Windows File Explorer in several ways: quick access for folders, larger file dialogs and customizable places bars.

Review by Elena Santos

Feniks Windows

Miranda Portable brings all the functionality and features of the popular cross-network IM client Miranda right to your pocket.

This portable version can easily be installed in any USB memory device so that you always have a tool to chat with your online buddies, no matter which network they connect to or which computer you’re using. Pocket-sized Miranda is light on resources, works fast and leaves no trace on the host system’s Registry.

This IM client supports multiple networks, which means you’ll be able to talk to people on ICQ, AIM, MSN, Jabber, Yahoo! and even IRC. The program’s interface and general design is honestly not the most brilliant I’ve seen, but the program is so handy and easy to use that it makes up for it.

Also, though Miranda Portable is quite a basic client, you can add loads of new features by means of plugins – just like the Firefox extensions, but for Miranda.

Save Miranda Portable in your USB memory stick and you’ll be able to chat with your IM buddies anytime, anywhere.

Review by Elena Santos

Feniks Windows

Limewire, one of the world’s most popular peer-to-peer filesharing applications, has received a lawsuit from the RIAA, who are demanding $115 million in damages, claiming the application promotes the infringement of copyright. Similar applications like Grokster and Kazaa have been forced to go legal and there is speculation as to just how long Limewire will resist until they have to buckle and pay up. The existence of the popular P2P application is not under threat, but if you haven’t given it a try yet, here’s just what makes it a standout program.

In terms of file sharing, Limewire is the cream of the crop, offering the essential peer-to- peer tools in what is probably the friendliest interface of applications in its class. Beginners will appreciate the search bar, which allows you to select the type of file you’re looking for, video, image, audio, program or file. Limewire has a “what’s new” button to check out what popular files users have recently exchanged. We also enjoyed the direct connect option. If you know the IP address of one of your friends, type it in the box and Limewire will browse that user’s files. This is a quick way of sharing files with someone else and can come in handy when working on a project and exchanging documents. The only little snag we have with direct connect is that it doesn’t let you enter the username, much simpler than looking for your friend’s IP address.

Downloading with Limewire is very intuitive. After you’ve searched and found the file you are looking for, double-click on it to start the downloading process. The speed of your download depends firstly on the quality of your connection (broadband is a minimum), if you’ve correctly opened your router’s ports and whether you’re downloading a popular file or not. We would like to point out the effort that Limewire takes to make itself accessible to beginners. Not only does a tip pop up every time you launch the application, the help option also leads you to Limewire’s support centre, FAQs and a forum to get in contact with other users.

The lawsuit carried out by the RIAA is all the more surprising because of the measures Limewire takes to keep you in the realms of legality. If you decide to download Limewire from its website, you will first have to agree you will not use it for copyright infringement. When you’re configuring the application, you can set content filters, to avoid downloading files that copyright owners do not want you to share. To avoid embarrassing situations, make sure you tick the “block adult content” box, which will filter out any pornographic files from your searches.

The best way of checking the quality of the audio or video you’re downloading is via Limewire’s mini player. It’s fairly basic and to par with the players you find in similar filesharing applications, but we appreciated the way it was integrated in the application.

If there’s one thing that we’re still expecting from the Limewire team, it’s that it finally decides to jump on the BitTorrent bandwagon. Torrents are the way forward when it comes to peer to peer file sharing because of the speed, the security and freshness of downloads. Large files like movies or complete seasons of TV series are much easier to download via BitTorrent. We were also annoyed by the “buy the PRO version” window that popped up every time we started Limewire.

For its wealth of possibilities and huge base of users, (more than 4 million simultaneously on the Gnutella network) we encourage you to give Limewire a test drive. Because of the controversial nature of the application, you should always make sure that you aren’t using Limewire for illegal activities like copyright infringement. However don’t be scared off by the legality issue. Limewire, like most P2P applications is one of the most exciting possibilities that the internet gives us. It would be a shame not to give it a try. You should also check out Frostwire, the not-for-profit project of the Limewire development team.

Review by Cyril Roger

Feniks Windows

VSO Inspector is a free add-on to report various information about your hardware configuration. Using this freeware, you can check the listed CD and DVD readers and writers connected to your computer, check the firmware used, the details about the media used and the speed supported by a given writer with this media. You can also scan a burnt media for read errors and be confident about the readibility of your fresh backup.

Here’s what VSO Inspector can do for you:

Detect and list the features of your CD/DVD writers
Supported formats
Region details
Firmware versions
Buffer size
Region Code
Read and Write modes

Detect and list information about the inserted media
Media type
Capacity
Media ID (manufacturer and/or model)
Number of layers
Supported speeds (with current writer)

Media Analysis
Sector reading
Definition of the area to check
Definition of the read direction

Feniks Windows

OrangeCD Player is a compact freeware program that allows you to listen to audio CDs through your computer CD-ROM and audio card. The player supports FreeDB protocol and integrates with our music catalog software, so every time you play a new album, it downloads track titles and other information from Internet and automatically catalogs the album in your music database. Other features include various playback modes, play lists, direct track access and disc position memory.

Feniks Windows

Ever fancy making your own film but don’t have the patience to learn the major editing packages such as Adobe Premiere and Final Cut?

Then Auto Movie Creator converts you into Steven Spielberg but without the hours spent learning how to cut and splice and render videos that most video editing packages require. In fact, the program does much of the work for you via the editing wizard which is effectively your Assistant Director. It takes you logically and slowly through every step holding your hand as you go from capturing video to outputting it in a format that’s suitable for your needs. One of the most time-consuming parts of editing is going through the footage to see which parts you need to take out. Auto Movie Creator even does this for you simply by selecting “Detect Scenes” and the program automatically scans your footage for the best quality shots. It also allows you to add professional style effects such as dissolves and fades simply by dragging and dropping them into the timeline. You can also add photos and other images into your video to give them a more personal touch.

Auto Movie Creator feels more like a photo editing package than a video editor but this is the key behind it’s appeal – it requires absolutely no prior editing knowledge and is simple enough for even the most amateur of video makers.

Review by Nick Mead

Feniks Windows

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.

Review by Elena Santos

Feniks Windows

If there’s one thing that Firefox has always lacked, it’s a decent download manager but FlashGot gives more power to your favourite browser.

FlashGot is a free Mozilla Firefox (and Thunderbird) extension that ¡s designed for those who do a lot of downloading. It can handle large numbers of batch downloads with it’s own intuitive download manager. This simple but powerful plugin can even handle batch downloads for many anonymous or redirected download link services such as anonym.to, tinyurl.com, moourl.com, anonymz.com, shorten.ws and tubeurl.com. This most recent version has been updated to support rapidly growing sites such as megaupload.com, rapidshare.com and depositfiles.com.

The one drawback is the constant update warnings. You’ll find that frequently, when it comes to starting Firefox, FlashGot will prompt you for an update which is a bit annoying but a small price to pay for a great download manager. No more clicking multiple links and “Save as” – FlashGot simply scans the page for downloadable links and then you select which ones you need.

A much needed addition to Firefox although some users may find it an inferior choice to DownThemAll!

Review by Nick Mead

Feniks Windows