Articles about Software

IObit has released major new version of its Windows driver and game component updater tool. IObit Driver Booster 10 simplifies the task of finding and updating drivers across Windows PCs, and comes in both ad-supported free and paid-for versions.

Version 10 sees the tool expand its driver database to now include more than 8.5 million device drivers and game components.

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The desire for software supply chain integrity and transparency has left many organizations struggling to build in software security measures like signatures, provenance, and SBOMs to legacy systems and existing Linux distributions.

This has prompted Chainguard to produce Wolfi, a new Linux '(un)distribution' and build toolchain, that's been designed from the ground up to produce container images that meet the requirements of a secure software supply chain.

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New data reveals a significant increase in activities to secure open source components and integrate security into developer toolchains in order to protect the software supply chain.

The 13th edition of the Building Security In Maturity Model (BSIMM) report from Synopsys analyzes the software security practices of 130 organizations -- including Adobe, PayPal and Lenovo -- in their efforts to secure more than 145,000 applications built and maintained by nearly 410,000 developers.

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Researchers from cybersecurity firm Vectra have issued a warning that Microsoft Teams stores authentication tokens in an unprotected form that could easily be abused by hackers.

The desktop apps for Windows, macOS and Linux all store authentication tokens in cleartext, and this can be used by an attacker to steal an identity and log into accounts. This is clearly worrying, but what is more concerning is Microsoft's reaction; the company says that the issue does not require "immediate servicing".

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The Blender Foundation has unveiled its first Long Term Support release of the Blender 3.x series with the release of Blender 3.3 LTS. LTS releases are supported for two years from release.

Also available as a portable Windows build, this is the third major point release in the 3.x series since it debuted in December 2021.

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Corel has unveiled WinZip 27, a major new version of its flagship compression tool for Windows. Its headline changes are the addition of two new standalone tools in the form of a duplicate file cleaner and tool to facilitate the quick and secure sharing of zip files online.

The first new addition to all three editions of WinZip -- including the entry-level Standard version -- is WinZip SafeShare. This standalone tool is designed to make it easy to zip up, encrypt and share files securely with others via a three-step wizard.

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Google is not alone in offering so-called bug bounty programs which give financial incentives to contributors to track down vulnerabilities and security issues in its software. Now the company has launched a new initiative called the Open Source Software Vulnerability Rewards Program (OSS VRP).

As the name suggests, this new program focuses on Google's open source projects. The company is offering rewards of between $100 and $31,337, depending on the severity of the vulnerability.

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The fourth major point release of The Document Foundation’s open-source, cross-platform office suite has landed. As with the previous release in February, LibreOffice 7.4 is targeted towards improving the experience for those migrating from Microsoft Office.

The focus on improving compatibility with Microsoft Office -- both for those migrating away from the platform and others who need to share documents with MS Office users -- is an ongoing process, and the 7.4 press release focuses a lot of attention on LibreOffice’s "highest level of compatibility in the office suite market segment".

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It’s that time of year again when a major new version of Parallels Desktop hits the stores with the promise of improved compatibility and performance. This time around, Parallels Desktop 18.0 promises to maximize the use of Apple’s M1 Ultra chip with the potential to deliver up to 96 percent faster Windows 11 VMs on a Mac Studio.

In addition to unlocking the extra power of the M1 Ultra chip -- which will allow users to assign additional resources to their virtual machines to deliver those performance improvements, Parallels Desktop 18 also promises full support for Apple’s ProMotion display, allowing for automatic refresh rate changes.

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A new study reveals that while 80 percent of enterprises are using open source software (OSS) -- set to rise to 99 percent in the next year -- a mere one percent say they aren't worried about security.

The report from Synopsys, based on research by Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), shows that in response to high profile supply chain attacks 73 percent of respondents say they have increased their efforts significantly to secure their organizations' software supply chain.

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It is very easy to keep Windows up to date -- so easy, in fact, that you hardly need to do anything. Just make sure that the Automatic Updates feature of Windows Update is enabled, and everything will happen in the background. IObit Software Updater does much the same for the apps you have installed as well.

While there are some apps that will update automatically -- including, but not limited to, those installed from the Microsoft Store -- it is certainly not the case for all software. And this is where IObit Software Updater can help, ensuring that all of the software you have installed is up to date, so you not only benefit from the latest features and options, but also the highest level of security. IObit Software Updater 5.0 is now here, complete with support for scores of additional applications.

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While Microsoft has made it so much easier to create PDF files in Windows than it ever used to be, the built-in option is still rather limited. You can use Microsoft's virtual PDF printer to quickly convert images, Office documents and other files into the ever-useful PDF format, but there are not a huge number of options that you are able to configure.

Things are rather different with Bullzip PDF Printer which has just been updated to version 14. It is a while since this versatile tool received an update, so it's great to see that it has not been forgotten and that development is on-going. Whether you're a new or existing user, there is a lot to look forward to in Bullzip PDF Printer 14.

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Software supply chain risk has become mainstream, with 52 percent of respondents to a new survey being concerned about it.

The study from cybersecurity company Coalfire also finds 50 percent of boards of directors with software-buying companies are raising concerns, which means that responsibility for software supply chain risk is no longer confined to technical teams.

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For anyone concerned about privacy and security online, Tor Browser is an extremely important alternative to mainstream browsers. Designed to help keep users anonymous and to bypass restrictions put in place by governments, version 11.5 has landed complete with even more powerful options.

Over the years, it has become easier and easier to use Tor Browser, with complex configuration options being made available to the average user without the need for special knowledge. With the release of version 11.5 of the software, things have been made even easier thanks to the introduction of automatic censorship detection and circumvention with the new Connection Assist feature.

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Renowned eBook management tool Calibre has a new landmark release. Calibre 6.0 makes its bow on Windows (64-bit only), Mac and Linux.

Version 6.0 unveils one major headline new feature -- full text search across entire eBook libraries. It’s also the first version to support Apple Silicon and Linux ARM64 architectures, but also drops support for Windows 32-bit users.

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