The battle to encrypt data securely rages on, with developments in quantum computing mirrored by hackers’ ever more creative attempts to break encryption. Ironically, one form of encryption resistant to all forms of hacking -- One Time Pad (OTP) -- dates from the 19th century.

Symmetric OTP works by generating encryption from a key file -- the larger the better -- which renders all attempts to decrypt the data useless without access to said key file. And FinalCrypt, available for Windows, Mac and Linux -- indeed any Java-capable computer can run the tool, brings the technology to any computer user.

Ransomware and other threats like adware and cryptominers are still a major threat to businesses. But smaller companies may be struggling to find the resources to combat them.

To address this problem Kaspersky Lab is today releasing the next generation of its free Kaspersky Anti-Ransomware Tool for Business.

Install software on your computer and you’ll be forgiven for not having the spare time to search for updates. Most applications do not have a software update facility, so unless you go checking, you’ll often never know it’s been updated.

With this in mind, and software developers running out of key ideas to add to future revisions to encourage paid upgrades, we’re seeing 'Software Updater' tools being released to the market or added to system maintenance applications. IObit recently released a standalone Software Updater tool this year which we wrote about this month.

Anyone who has had to handle software support will know that sometimes explaining by email or attempting to describe an action over the telephone can be a very frustrating experience.

We handle support queries on a daily basis and are still perplexed that some users still do not know how to enter their product key or where it should be entered. They attempt to type in the code, get a digit wrong, think they’ve been sold a duff code, won’t accept reason and get angry real quick. There’s now a cheap and easy solution.

Install the latest security software and most people would consider their system safe. Understandable as most modern suites cover almost every possible scenario from prevention against malicious software through to providing a secure way of interacting with your bank account.

There’s one area which is avoided and that’s a lack of a secure tunnel to the outside world and here’s the reason why this is so important.

Are you plagued by pop-ups, susceptible to online scams or just frustrated by ad-riddled web pages that take forever to load? If so, then Malwarebytes may have the browser extension for you.

Malwarebytes Browser Extension for Chrome 1.0.40 and Malwarebytes Browser Extension for Firefox 1.0.38 both promise to be the first browser add-ons to identify and block yet-to-be-identified fake scams and tactics, plus provide protection against popups, browser lockers and hijackers too.

If you’re anything like us, you tend to remind yourself to follow-up a website by keeping a tab open. This often remains open indefinitely though, and over time, one tab quickly becomes many and you then move on by opening new browser windows.

But there’s a problem with this behavior. Have you noticed the system resources required to keen a browser tab open? Each tab can easily run at up to 150MB, as they contain images and dynamic content to host the web page. You only need ten open tabs and you’re allocating over 1GB of RAM to web pages to follow up at a later date. There must be a better alternative.

Download software from the Microsoft Store and it will either auto-update or you’ll be notified when a new version is available.

Problem is, most of our software isn’t downloaded from one source, so we often have no idea when big new updates are available. It’s true some installed software will either auto-update or notify you from within the software itself. Examples include web browsers such as Chrome or Firefox, your security software and Windows.

Opera Software has unveiled no fewer than 24 improvements since launching its mobile browser for Android and iOS. The latest build, Opera Touch 1.5.0 delivers a much-needed setting for automatically handling website cookie dialogs.

Other improvements since launch have included expanding the My Flow feature to connect mobile and desktop iterations of Opera, support for Private Browsing mode and a dark theme

If you use a laptop with a small SSD, you'll want to make sure you can reclaim as much hard drive space as possible. Many of the default apps Microsoft installs with Windows 10 can take up more space than you might realise and, better still, most can be removed simply and easily.

Take the Skype app, as an example. This app is now installed by default as Microsoft is keen to encourage us to use their technology. Problem is, it takes up nearly 0.5GB of your SSD, for an app you may never consider using.

It’s almost impossible to do anything these days without leaving a tell-tale digital trail behind you, particularly when accessing internet-related services. Given many apps now spend a significant amount of time connected to the internet, you can’t rely on just locking down your web browser either.

This where Avira Privacy Pal 1.8.0 for Windows PCs comes in. It promises to become your privacy-focused personal assistant, offering quick and simple fixes for over 200 privacy issues.

If you want to rip and copy any DVD disc, ISO image, or DVD folders to hard drive, computer, mobile device or digital formats, then WinX DVD Ripper Platinum v8.9.0 is the perfect tool for the job.

It usually retails for $67.95, but for a limited time BetaNews readers can get it entirely free.

Anyone who’s got a load of digital media lying about needs a media server, and while the obvious solution is to install Kodi or Plex, you might be missing a trick.

Although it’s still overshadowed by its better-known rivals, Emby Server 4.0 has just been released for Windows, Mac and Linux, plus is now available for Nvidia Shield and Android devices too.

Although we’d regard ourselves as technically proficient, even we can get caught out online. Over the New Year period we were searching for a product from a reputable brand, seeking the best price available through Google search.

Browsing through the shopping results, we found an official store which sold this brand and was offering a discounted new year sale. Looked legit. But the discount was too high and it was tricky to find any definitive location information. The online store was either selling fake products or simply extracting funds with no intention of shipping. Most people trust sources such as Google Search, but unless individuals report fake or phishing websites, it’s easy to get caught out.

If you’re looking for an open, trustworthy and decentralized alternative to cloud sync platforms, then Syncthing is the tool for you. And today is a milestone -- after five long years in beta, Syncthing 1.0.0 (32-bit) and Syncthing 1.0.0 (64-bit) has been released for Windows, Mac, Linux and Android.

The new release has been given a new code name: Erbium Earthworm, continuing the tradition of alphabetic code names (the previous release was Dysprosium Dragonfly). It’s also been dubbed "Graduation Day" by lead developer Jakob Borg.