Articles about Software

We've seen a tidal wave of developer-enabling technologies over the last ten years. From DevOps, to CI/CD, to containers and microservices -- all of these best practices and technology patterns aim to speed up the process of shipping code fast from the developer into production.

But while software has become increasingly easy to package and deploy, the process of diagnosing and fixing bugs in production has become much more difficult. When services crash in the middle of the night, developers still find themselves in the world of logs, hotfixes and desperation -- but now with much greater surface area to investigate as applications span distributed systems.

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If you are using a computer, the companies that make the software you use every day are probably gathering data about you. While some of this is obvious -- there is a reason you see the ads you do online, after all -- some of it is more covert.

Software from the likes of Google, Microsoft and other big names include telemetry components that can invade privacy by collecting personal data. Instead of manually working through settings, or tinkering with the registry, you can turn to the newly released Ashampoo AntiSpy Pro to help protect your privacy.

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Governments don't have a good record when delivering IT projects, but a new study from digital experience company Acquia that the UK government is facing a major software skills crisis.

Results show that 28 percent of vacancies remain unfilled. Across the 12 departments which responded to freedom of information requests, some 317 developer positions are open, while just 808 developers are currently employed.

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Putting a computer online without adequate protection is simply asking for trouble. Even the most tech savvy user can fall victim to viruses, malware and other forms of cyberattack -- so security software is essential these days. In the latest update to its offering in this field, IObit has released Advanced SystemCare Ultimate 14.

With the coronavirus pandemic meaning that more people than ever are working from home, it has never been more important to keep your computer locked down against attack and infection. As well as offering a range of security and protection options for Windows users, the Advanced SystemCare Ultimate suite also provides a range of optimization tools and a selection of handy utilities to make day-to-day computer use easier, more secure and more pleasant.

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As its name implies, AVG Ultimate 2021 is the crème-de-la-crème of AVG’s product range, providing a suite of tools to boost security, privacy and performance across all your household’s computers and mobile devices, from Windows PCs and Macs to Android and iOS phones and tablets.

Your household’s PCs and Macs are blanket covered by four applications. Core security comes in the form of AVG Internet Security 2021 -- complete protection for your family’s PCs and Macs courtesy of antivirus with anti-ransomware, shopping and banking protection via browser tools that block unsafe or compromised websites, firewall and webcam security.

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The cost of poor software quality in the US in 2020 was approximately $2.08 trillion according to a report released today produced by the Consortium for Information and Software Quality (CISQ) and sponsored by Synopsys.

The figure includes poor software quality resulting from software failures, unsuccessful development projects, legacy system problems, technical debt and cybercrime enabled by exploitable weaknesses and vulnerabilities in software.

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iolo Technologies has unveiled System Mechanic 21, a landmark new version of the venerable -- but still acclaimed -- system tune-up tool for Windows PCs. It’s a noteworthy release thanks to a major user interface update, but also boasts two new scanning tools, step-by-step guides and -- in the Pro release -- improved antivirus protection.

The new redesign is immediately apparent the first time the product is run, accompanied by a streamlined install process, clean and simplified dashboard, and pop-up guides that can steer users through their first run with major parts of the program.

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In the realms of understatement, "2020 has been a hard year" rules supreme. No one needs a recap as to why, but as many of us continue to be subject to restrictions preventing us from getting out to the shops, coupled with well-publicized delays and disruption to mail services, getting Christmas sorted for our loved ones has been particularly challenging this year.

And that’s where we come in: if you’re stuck within a "stay at home" area, worried about missing the last post or looking for a last-minute gift, the Downloadcrew Software Store has you covered. You can order directly from our digital store and have the gift sent either to yourself or directly to your friend or family member -- it’ll arrive within minutes, even on Christmas Day!

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Among the many things that have changed in 2020 it's proved to be a record year for crowdsourced cybersecurity adoption, according to Bugcrowd.

Enterprises across all industries have been implementing crowdsourced cybersecurity programs to keep up with the evolving threat landscape. Bugcrowd has seen a 50 percent increase in submissions on its platform in the last 12 months, including a 65 percent increase in Priority One (P1) submissions, which refer to the most critical security vulnerabilities.

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It's a sad fact of life that the lightning-fast computer you bought recently will slow down. But the fact that things are feeling more sluggish than they used to does not mean that you need to rush out and buy a new computer, or even upgrade your hardware -- a little software-driven optimization may be all you need.

With the newly launched BoostSpeed 12 and Defrag 10, you have everything you need to give your computer the injection of speed it needs. Both have a great range of new features and options that will prove tempting to existing users and new ones alike.

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Ashampoo Technology GmbH has released Ashampoo Burning Studio 22, a major new version of its disc-burning suite for Windows users.

Burning Studio supports the creation of video, audio, and data discs, including DVDs and Blu-rays. There’s also built-in support for ripping CDs to hard drive and creating disc image files such as ISO and BIN. Version 22 adds several new features, including support for H.265-encoded video, an improved metadata search and retrieval tool, and support for customizable desktop shortcuts.

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When it comes to compression software, there are two names that tend to spring to mind -- WinZip and WinRAR. Which you are more familiar with will depend on what you are using your compression software for, but over the years WinRAR has earned itself a place in many people's hearts.

25 years after its first release, WinRAR 6.0 is now available. There is, of course, support for the incomparable RAR format, but also for .zip, .tar, .jar, .lzh, .iso and more. This latest release includes a number of important changes and additions such as improved handling of extracting multiple archives simultaneously, and the addition of new command line switches to give you greater control over the extraction process.

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With the recent release of PowerToys v0.27, Microsoft managed to both excite and disappoint users. While there was a lot to explore and enjoy in that build, the newly released PowerToys v0.28 is even more impressive.

What is there to look forward to? Well, the arrival of the lauded video conference mute feature is something that people have been waiting for for a while... and now it's finally here.

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Software suppliers are showing an ongoing interest in collecting and understanding usage data to help with both change management and use-based pricing models.

A new report from Revenera reveals that 60 percent collect usage data today and more than 75 percent will do so in the next two years.

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PowerArchiver 2021 adds a brand new internal editor and viewer tool.

ConeXware has unveiled a major new version of its trialware archiving tool for Windows users with the release of PowerArchiver 2021. For the first time, PowerArchiver 2021 is also available for macOS too, although this release does not (yet) boast all the features of its Windows cousin.

Version 20.0.58 for Windows unveils tools to help view and edit files within archives without extracting them, plus promises improvements to its Pro edition-only PowerArchiver Cloud feature, and adds some welcome new tools to the Action menu.

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