Free Software

The internet remains a dangerous place to inhabit; if anything, the risks presented by viruses and other forms of malware are greater than ever. While Windows includes the Defender tool to help keep you safe, it does not offer complete protection, and this is where the newly updated IObit Malware Fighter 9.0 can help you out.

This latest version features full support for Windows 11 and an expanded protection database. IObit, however, points out that this is not just a case of "blindly increasing" the size of the database, but also optimizing it by tidying up invalid and out-of-date entries.

We all know the importance of backing up our data, and by far the simplest way to ensure that everything is safeguarded is to create system images that back up everything at once. You could buy expensive software to do this, or you could use the newly updated Macrium Reflect 8 Free.

This powerful backup tool is free for home usage and can be used to create images of Windows systems -- even when they are running. The latest version of the free edition of this software includes a number of improvements and enhancements, starting off with the ability to create WinPE 11-base rescue media which uses the Windows 11 kernel.

Windows 11 is here! It’s shiny, it’s new, it’s streamlined, it’s -- er -- missing some favorite features. If you’ve discovered that the new Start menu is more stop than start, and yearn for something old and familiar, then the good news is that there are options -- both paid-for and free -- to fill the gap.

Chief among these comes from renowned Windows developer Stardock. It’s just officially released Start11 v1.0. The bad news is that it’s no longer free to use now it's out of beta, but you can at least give it a trial run before deciding if $5.99 is a fair price to pay for it.

Whether you like it or not, and regardless of whether you know anything about them, drivers are absolutely central to Windows. Giving the operating system the ability to communicate with hardware and you the ability to tweak and control settings, drivers are essential for day-to-day computing, and keeping them up to date is important.

Driver updates not only add new features and improve performance, they can also help with stability and security. And this is why IObit Driver Booster is so helpful; it ensures that you always have the very latest drivers installed and fixes a range of driver-related issues. Version 9 of this essential tool has just been released, and it is even more powerful than before.

German developer SoftMaker Software GmbH has unveiled the latest version of its free office suite for Windows, Mac and Linux. SoftMaker FreeOffice 2021 is the first major release in over three years, and provides free alternatives to the key components of Microsoft Office, namely Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

New features are thin on the ground, and form just a subset of those that accompanied the commercial release of SoftMaker Office 2021 last year.

Ransomware continues to be a major issue, with the FBI recently reporting a 62 percent year-on-year increase for the period ending July 31.

Unpatched vulnerabilities, device misconfigurations, internet-facing assets and unauthorized software rank consistently among the top attack vectors, but how can businesses track them down?

dotPDN LLC has unveiled Paint.NET 4.3.1 for Windows PCs. It follows a mere five days after the major 4.3 update, and fixes some problems introduced with the new version.

These include resolving an issue with the Explorer 'Open with' menu, which primarily affected Windows 7 and 8.1, but also some versions of Windows 10, as well as repairing image thumbnails when using File Explorer’s Details View.

Just about every computer in use around the world has a hard drive that contains at least some software that isn’t used or needed. You can, of course, remove apps you don't want by using the Apps & features section of Settings, but this is not guaranteed to get rid of every last trace of any given app.

And this is precisely why software unsinstallers like IObit Uninstaller 11 are so valuable. This tool monitors installations so it knows exactly which files have been added or changed, making it much easier to completely remove apps during uninstallation.

Serving as a handy reminder that Microsoft Office is certainly not the only office suite out there, LibreOffice 7.2 has landed. There are a sizable number of changes in this latest version of the free, open-source office software including support for Apple M1 chips.

While there are lots of under-the-hood changes that are concerned with optimization, stability and improving compatibility with Microsoft Office, there are also plenty of things which are rather more obvious. This includes a new LibreOffice Dark theme, and a new batch of templates.

Another month, another major Firefox update. This time, Firefox 91 brings with it two major changes of note: improvements to its Total Cookie Protection feature, and support for logging into Microsoft, work and school accounts through Windows single sign-on.

Total Cookie Protection, introduced back in February when Firefox was a mere 86 iterations old, aims to confine cookies to the site where they were created as part of an attempt to put the brakes on invasive tracking cookies from third-party companies.

The excitement surrounding the unveiling of Windows 11 was tempered slightly when the system requirements were revealed and it turned out a large number of Windows 10 systems would be incompatible with the new OS.

Microsoft’s own system compatibility checker proved to be rather useless -- if your PC failed the check it provided no details on why -- leading the software giant to pull it. Thankfully a number of third parties have stepped up to fill the void, the latest one being German software developer Ashampoo.

A number of on-premise identity systems from major suppliers including CA, Oracle and IBM are coming to the end of their lives and many businesses are looking to migrate to cloud alternatives.

But before migration can begin it's necessary to discover and catalog legacy identity systems. This is a largely manual process because there is no unified view of older environments that span multiple stakeholders, have evolved over a number of years, and can contain hidden complexities.

After last month’s major redesign, you’d be forgiven for thinking Firefox might take it easy with its latest update. But while there are no standout features to rival version 89’s facelift, Firefox 90 sports some notable new features and improvements to make the update a noteworthy one.

The Windows build gets particular attention with this new release. Firefox 90 introduces a new about:third-party page to help users identify compatibility problems caused by third-party modules and apps.

Web users' interest in privacy and security has gradually increased over the years, and demand for secure, anonymity-offering browsers like Tor is also on the up. Now a new version of Tor Browser is upon us, introducing various protection methods.

Perhaps most apparent in Tor Browser 10.5 is the improved experience of connecting to Tor. While the Tor Network has undeniably rocketed in popularity, there are still plenty of people who like the idea of the security and privacy it offers, but feel uncomfortable with getting started. In particular, this latest version of the browser makes life easier for people forced to use censored connections.

It is very common for PCs to have two hard drives (often one SDD or NVMe storage, and one traditional mechanical drive) with the majority of these systems configured to have both Windows and the standard documents folders stored on the C: drive. Many users like the idea of moving Windows library folders such as Documents, Pictures and Videos to a different drive, but have no idea how to proceed.

This is precisely what PCmover Reconfigurator can help with. This is a free tool from Laplink that dramatically simplifies the process of making optimal usage of the storage devices you have.