Articles about Free Software

Open-source video editor OpenShot 2.5.0 has been released, dubbed "our largest release yet" by project creator Jonathan Thomas. Headline new features, which should significantly improve the application’s performance when fully implemented, include experimental support for hardware acceleration alongside a major overhaul of the keyframe system.

Future development should also be simpler now all features and support have been aligned across all platforms: Windows, Linux and macOS.

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The Document Foundation has unveiled LibreOffice 6.4 64-bit and LibreOffice 6.4 32-bit, its popular open-source office suite for Windows, Mac and Linux.

LibreOffice 6.4 is a major point release -- the last in the 6.x product line -- and comes with the promise of improved performance along with several new universal features and the usual mix of minor changes and improvements to individual applications within the suite.

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Less than a month after unveiling MBAM 4.0, Malwarebytes has released Malwarebytes AdwCleaner 8.0, a major new version of its standalone adware-cleaning tool.

AdwCleaner 8.0 updates its optional in-app installer to ensure the latest version of Malwarebytes is installed going forward, plus drops support for Windows XP and Vista. Its UI has also been refreshed to chime with MBAM 4.0’s.

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TeamViewer GmbH has released TeamViewer 15.0, its remote access tool for Windows, Linux and Mac computers, plus iOS and Android mobiles.

The new release adds very little to the user experience on the major desktop platforms -- better audio transmission quality on TeamViewer-based chats is the main improvement, but Windows users will need to upgrade to maintain full compatibility with the recently released November 2019 release. Once updated on Windows, other platforms must follow suit for compatibility reasons.

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Microsoft published an updated version of the company's .NET Framework Repair Tool this week; the new version supports newer versions of the Microsoft .NET Framework, in particular versions 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2 and 4.8, which older versions did not support.

Administrators may download the latest version of the application from the Microsoft website. The list of supported .Net Framework versions is available on the same page and links are provided to download these to the local system (which is useful when the program is run in offline mode).

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Malwarebytes has released a major new version of its eponymous anti-malware tool: Malwarebytes 4.0 is available now as a free and premium version for both Windows and Mac.

The new version unveils a major redesign with a look towards the minimalist. This reflects the promise of a much smaller footprint -- 50 percent less impact on the CPU during scans -- and associated performance gains. Malwarebytes 4.0 also unveils a brand new detection engine.

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Crystal Dew World has released CrystalDiskMark 7.0 and CrystalDiskMark Portable 7.0, major new versions of its hard drive benchmarking tool for Windows.

Version 7 debuts a rebuilt user interface using GDI rather than HTML, plus adds a new performance profile and mixed test while tweaking two existing tests. Support for ARM64 processors has also been added.

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There’s an argument against whether your modern PC requires additional optimization. Windows 10 offers basic but essential tools to keep your system running smoothly and it’s less likely you’ll run out of drive space or require a system purge to make room for a new install.

With the above in mind, system maintenance developers are coming up with new ways of making their tools essential in the modern world. Security remains a constant threat, so adding modules to keep your system safe seems to be the recent priority.

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Renowned open-source eBook management tool Calibre 4.2 has been released. The cross-platform app, also available in 32-bit form, makes it easy to organize, manage, view, convert and even edit eBooks.

Version 4.2 comes a fortnight after version 4.0 was released. This update promises improvements to macOS dark mode support and the Viewer application, including the generation of covers and table of contents.

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IObit has released Driver Booster 7.0.2, a major new release of its free and paid-for driver updater tool for Windows PCs.

Highlights of this new release include support for over 3,500,000 drivers, twice the scanning speed of previous versions, a silent mode feature and an enhanced toolbox that promises fixes for a wider range of driver-related issues such as sound, networking and low-resolution problems.

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Sandboxie -- the sandboxing tool with the tagline "Trust no program" -- has been made into a free utility. But more than this, Sophos also plans to make the software open source in the near future.

The company says that it was a difficult decision to make, pointing out that Sandboxie has never been a significant component of its business. While simply shutting down the app would have been the easiest and cheapest thing to do, Sophos says: "we love the technology too much to see it fade away".

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Mozilla has released Thunderbird 68.0 for Windows, Mac and Linux. Also released in portable and -- for the first time -- 64-bit form for Windows users, Thunderbird is Mozilla’s free and open-source email client.

Version 68 unveils improvements to its App Menu, incorporates the options dialog into the main program window and offers improved attachment-handling features.

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Although we handle support for novice software customers, there’s one area that often leaves us perplexed. Why does software manage to leave so much data on your computer after you run the official uninstaller?

It should be straightforward, right? You install software, uninstall and the entire process should remove the components, registry entries, startup modules and upgrade flashes. But often they fail. We still get warnings about software being out-of-date that we uninstalled months ago and even a tool from a well-known brand offering us an upgrade. Try and locate the source of these issues and they are often hidden deep in your registry or other hard to find locations.

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Geek Software GMBH has released pdf24 Creator 9.0, a major new version of its freeware suite of tools designed to create and manipulate PDF files. Features include the ability to merge, split and extract individual pages from PDF files, plus create secure documents.

The program adds several new features, including a zip-like merge tool for PDF documents as well as the ability to quickly reverse a document’s page order. Users also gain a handful of additional options as well as a selection of minor improvements

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Google has released Google Web Designer 6.0, a major new version of its HTML-5 contenting-producing tool for Windows, Mac and Linux. Its WYSIWYG user interface and other user-friendly tools like syntax highlighting and code autocompletion make it popular among advertisers.

Version 6.0 introduces improvements to its Code view and Events panel layout, supports focal points for responsive images and introduces interactive video features.

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