Software : Download of the day: Team Fortress 2 |
- Download of the day: Team Fortress 2
- Updated: Best free antivirus software 2015
- Updated: Best free software for writing: 10 programs to unleash your creativity
| Download of the day: Team Fortress 2 Posted:  If you like games, you love Team Fortress 2, which features beautiful visuals and fast-paced gameplay – and some rather fetching hats. Why you need itTeam Fortress has been around for a while now, and with good reason – it's one of the most popular multiplayer games around, combining addictive gameplay with great humour and a distinct cartoony visual style. Choose your character type – from soldier and spy to medic and engineer – then duke it out in classic game modes like capture the flag and king of the hill or more unusual affairs like payload and control point. As we noted in our roundup on the most essential software for 2015, Team Fortress 2 helped lay the foundations for the current free-to-play trend that is so popular within gaming right now. What that means is that you can play one of the most enjoyable multiplayer games around completely for free. There's also a thriving community, so you'll never be short of opponents to battle or teammates to join. The community have even created a short animated movie and update for the game title 'End of the Line'. The developers, for their part, and always working on updates themselves, so there's always something new to look forward to. Key features
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| Updated: Best free antivirus software 2015 Posted:  Introduction and antivirus products 1-3Our best free antivirus round-up has been fully updated. Reliable antivirus protection is a must-have for every PC. You know this. We know this. But so do the security companies, which is why covering all your devices can become very expensive. You could ditch your paid products and hope Windows Defender will keep you safe – but as independent testing shows very poor detection rates (it typically misses one threat in six), that's probably going to be a serious mistake. However, there are plenty of free antivirus solutions around which do deliver solid protection, and are just as capable as their commercial cousins. So if you're tired of those annual subscriptions, read on – we've picked out five of the best free antivirus engines to deliver great security at no cost. 1. 360 Total SecurityIf you're looking for a standalone antivirus package then 360 Total Security might seem a little overweight. It provides antiphishing support, online shopping protection, network threat blocking, hard drive clean-up tools, a Windows update checker, and more. This feature overload does make for a relatively complex interface. It's not always easy to operate, and if you run into problems there's no significant documentation to help. Still, what makes the suite interesting is that it uses no less than four antivirus engines. Install it and you can be protected by Bitdefender technology (an excellent commercial engine), Avira (probably the best of the free offerings), and two further engines of Qihoo's own.
This isn't just some marketing gimmick, either. Independent labs including AV-Test, AV-Comparatives and Virus Bulletin regularly rate Qihoo 360 as one of the top two antivirus products. Our tests also showed some problems. 360 Total Security took anything up to twice as long to scan our system than some of the competition, presumably because of the four engines. It also returned more false positives, just as we expected (each engine will generate a few of its own). Surprisingly, however, all this bulk didn't weigh down our PC in normal use, with 360 Total Security having minimal effect on system speeds. VB100 and AV-Comparatives testing also suggests the suite has little performance impact. 360 Total Security is far from perfect, and if you're looking for a simple antivirus engine to run alongside other security tools then it'll probably be too much. But if detection rates are your top priority then the package is hard to beat. 2. Avast Free AntivirusWhile free antivirus software won't cost you anything to download, you might sometimes find you'll pay in other ways. Install Avast Free Antivirus and it'll also equip your PC with Google toolbar, unless you're paying attention and clear the relevant checkbox. The advertising doesn't stop there. By default Avast Free Antivirus scans for "performance issues" (junk files, unnecessary apps) as well as malware. It then displays any problem areas in a banner, but won't fix any of them unless you buy Avast's GrimeFighter. Fortunately you don't have to live with this. Avast Free Antivirus has an excellent interface – it's clean, clear and configurable – and in just a few clicks you can set it up to avoid the pointless GrimeFighter scan. The testing labs give Avast mid-range scores, as we write; typically the company outperforms AVG, but doesn't quite match the power of Avira.
Still, the package does rate highly when dealing with zero-day threats, and in our experience gives very few false positives. Crucially, it's also better than most at blocking malicious URLs, which means you're less likely to encounter malware in the first place. Useful extras include checks for network security holes (like a router still using the default password), while the Software Update highlights missing software patches and installs them with a click. Better still, everything is very configurable. If you're not quite happy with Avast's Web Shield, for example, you can change what and how it scans, tell the program to ignore particular URLs, processes, MIME or file types, and define exactly what to do if it finds something. Avast Free Antivirus may not quite offer the best protection, then, but its interface is one of the best around, and experienced users will appreciate its extreme configurability. 3. AVG AntiVirus FreeIf you've ever wondered why security companies give away free software, AVG AntiVirus Free gives you the answer. They're a great marketing opportunity, and the program comes with a host of ads, "Go Pro" buttons and website links which try to persuade you to upgrade. Still, AVG AntiVirus Free does at least spend most of the time out of sight, running in the background, so this may not matter very much. And the program does have other compensations. An excellent scheduler automatically runs scans at regular intervals, on certain days of the week or month – maybe when your system boots. It's just as easy to schedule program and definition updates, ensuring these won't tie up network bandwidth when you need it most.
The program's AVG Turbo Scan feature supposedly improves scan speeds by "following the order in which files are saved to the hard drive". That sounds like marketing speak, but our tests suggest otherwise, with AVG AntiVirus Free achieving some of the fastest scan times in this group. Accuracy is more important, of course, and the story there is more uncertain. The program returned only average detection results in our small trials, and the independent testing labs also aren't too impressed. AV-Comparatives' 2014 Real-World Protection Tests typically placed AVG around the middle of their 22 contenders, although they do also show one significant plus: the program generates very few false positives. Put it all together and AVG AntiVirus Free only just scrapes into our top five. The program's speed, configurability and good antiphishing results are real advantages, though, and if you're an AVG fan then it may be worth a try. Antivirus products 4-54. Avira Free AntivirusSome security companies spend a great deal of time and effort on interface design, but Avira isn't quite so concerned. Sure, Avira Free Antivirus adds a graphical launcher to your system tray, but the core program looks plain, ordinary, and a little dated. Fortunately Avira scores where it matters. The company seems much more interested in substance than style, and the end result is one of the best security freebies around. The program is loved by the testing labs. Whether you check out AV-Test, AV-Comparatives or VB100 reports, Avira technology almost always scores very highly. And that's not only in relation to free software. AV-Comparative's December 2014 Real-World Protection Test ranked the program fifth out of 22 mostly commercial contenders, with the same 99.4% protection rate as the highly-rated Bitdefender and Kaspersky. (That's a typical score, not a fluke – sometimes Avira tops the list.)
If you're looking for an easy life then you can leave the program alone, and it'll do its work almost entirely automatically. But expert users get plenty of fine control. There are options to protect the Hosts file, block autorun, scan archives (including a configurable recursion depth), monitor network drives, set the file types to be scanned, even password protect your Avira installation so others can't mess with your settings. Avira Free Antivirus has a distinct shortage of bonus extras, which might be an issue for some. The "Firewall" options add little (they configure the standard Windows firewall, rather than adding anything new), and even basic web protection requires a separate browser extension. Still, for us, Avira's stripped-back design is a plus, as it makes it easier to add other security tools without conflicts. Factor in its very accurate engine and Avira is our pick of the free antivirus crop. 5. Panda Free AntivirusPanda Free Antivirus makes a great first impression, with its colourful Windows 8-style interface giving easy access to the program's many features. We were surprised to find the main screen is configurable, too. If you're unhappy with the layout of the tiles then you can drag and drop them around, delete some or add others. The verdict on the core antivirus engine is a little less clear. We found it delivered great detection rates in our own small-scale tests, but scanning speeds were a little below average. The independent testing labs also have some doubts, with AV-Comparatives in particular showing protection levels falling a little towards the end of the year. But that's still good enough to justify a top five position, and the test reports also highlight some other positives (the package raises very few false alarms).
A useful set of extras start with the URL filter, which does a solid job of preventing access to malicious sites. The USB Vaccine feature tries to protect your USB keys from some infections, while Process Monitor is a Task Manager-like tool, displaying running processes, their open HTTP connections, and highlighting likely dangers. If all this fails then Panda's Rescue Kit could be a lifesaver. It's able to download and run Panda Cloud Cleaner, which is great for catching the very latest malware, or you can build a bootable USB key to remove the most stubborn of threats. Panda Free Antivirus isn't quite as powerful as the market leaders, but it still offers very capable protection and some valuable bonus features. If you're looking for a simple package which anyone can use then it's a sensible choice. |
| Updated: Best free software for writing: 10 programs to unleash your creativity Posted:  It would be easy to be fooled into thinking that all you need to write is a word processor. While this is certainly a useful piece of software, there's far more to consider. It's important that you use the right tool for the job, and there is plenty to think about besides the writing itself. Here we round up ten of best tools to help you out with every stage of the writing process, no matter what you're working on. 1. SigilIf you've ever thought of making your own ebooks, you're going to need some great software to enable you to do that – something much like Sigil. It's accessible to both novices and experts, with a WYSIWYG and code view to suit either experience level. It's also full of useful features, such as the table of contents generator, spell checker and book browser.
You can start from scratch by typing directly into the program, or convert HTML files into ebooks – complete with embedded audio and video if you like – that can be read on Windows, Mac, iOS and Android. 2. EvernoteSuccessful writing, from screenplays and novels to essays and papers, depends on research. And if you're conducting research or maintaining a list of notes and ideas, you need somewhere to store them – this is where Evernote can help. You can create an endless list of notebooks to store information about different projects you are working on.
Evernote can be used to store text that makes its way into the final document, grab content from the web, and there's even scope for collaborating with others by sharing your notes. Best of all, Evernote syncs to the cloud, so it can be accessed from just about any computer or device, either online or through a dedicated app. 3. FreeMindStoryboarding is a great way to try out ideas and see where a particular thread of a project is going. Mindmappng is something of an extension of this idea, letting you riff off your own ideas and see how things unfold.
It doesn't matter if you are working on a storyline idea and want to track what happens to individual characters, or if you want to map the main points you need to make in an essay so you can brainstorm sub-content, FreeMind is on hand to help. If you have a tendency to get lost and forget ideas before you have chance to get them on paper, this could be your saviour. 4. ScribusNot every writing project is a simple case of filling the page with words – sometimes you need an advanced layout tool. There are several expensive professional layout applications to choose from, but Scribus is an immensely powerful free alternative.
This is not a program that you'll pick up instantly as there is a bit of a learning curve, but once you get to grips with it you'll be able to create stunning newspaper and magazine-style layouts. You can use Scribus to create advanced documents suitable for professional printing, or you can save projects as PDFs for electronic delivery. 5. LibreOffice WriterFor every day writing of all sorts, a word processor is all but essential. While Microsoft Office may be the most popular office suite available, you can get your hands on a similarly powerful suite, including a word processor, free of charge in the form of LibreOffice.
Its word processor is called Writer, which has all of the basics covered so you have full control over the look of your documents. There are also useful writing tools such as autocorrect and a table of contents creator, further helping your writing process. Documents you create are fully compatible with the likes of Microsoft Word, too, so you can share files with others without worrying about how they will look. 6. WriteMonkeyThere are all sorts of distractions that can get in the way of writing. While interruptions from friends and family can't really be avoided, there are plenty of on-screen diversions that you can banish. WriteMonkey is a word processor that has been designed with the serious writer in mind. The interface is stripped back and basic so you can concentrate on the one thing that matters – writing.
Don't be fooled by the sparse-looking interface, WriteMonkey is far from being devoid of features. Right click a blank area of the screen and the context menu gives you access to all of the tools you could need, whilst hiding them away when you want to remain distraction-free. 7. RapidTyping TutorThe faster and more accurately you can type, the less time you will need to spend writing – or the more time you will have for writing, depending on how you look at things. As with so many things in life, practice makes perfect, and RapidTyping Tutor guides you through how to use the keyboard correctly, and uses a series of lessons to help you increase your speed.
This is an instantly accessible tool which is fun to use and brings genuine results. You can track your progress in the program so you can keep an eye on how much you improve. 8. GanttProjectWhen you're writing for other people, you need to think about deadlines, and GanttProject can help you keep on top of them. It is particularly useful if you are working on more than one writing job at the same time, as it helps to eliminate confusion.
It's an excellent project management tool that works equally well if you are working alone, or if you are collaborating with others. You can set deadlines and goals, break a large project up into smaller chunks, and easily keep an eye on the progress that's being made. It's a great way to effectively manage your time. 9. PagePlusFor those writing projects where you need more page layout control than you'll find in a regular word processor – but don't need the advanced features of the likes of Scribus – PagePlus fits the bill perfectly.
This desktop publishing tool is great for putting together newsletters, booklets and other documents that are a little different to the norm. There are all manner of templates readymade for you to work with so you don't have to spend time fiddling with too many settings. Like other Serif titles, PagePlus is incredibly simple to use, but this does not mean that it isn't highly powerful and versatile. 10. SimpleOCRWhile the majority of your writing is likely to be penned by your own hand, there may well be times when you need to repurpose content from other sources. Rather than typing passages out by hand, you can use SimpleOCR to convert printed words into editable text.
As well as being useful for quoting lengthy passages from books, the program will also come in handy if you have a printout of a file but have lost the electronic version. The software is free, but you also get a two-week trial of a handwriting conversion component that can be used to make handwritten notes editable. |
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