Friday, March 6, 2015

mIRC - Download and Review

mIRC is a full featured Internet Relay Chat client for Windows that can be used to communicate, share, play or work with others on IRC networks around the world, either in multi-user group conferences or in one-to-one private discussions. It has a clean, practical interface that is highly configurable and supports features such as buddy lists, file transfers, multi-server connections, IPv6, SSL encryption, proxy support, UTF-8 display, UPnP, customizable sounds, spoken messages, tray notifications, message logging, and more.

What's new in this version:
Version 7.41:
  • Added $calc() // floor divide operator.
  • Fixed MDI window transparency bug under Windows 8.
  • Fixed file handling bug that would have caused settings to be reset if there was a drive error.
  • Fixed connection timeout not being applied while a STARTTLS handshake is in progress.
  • Reverted Channels List window change so that modes are included in the listing again.
What's new in version 7.41
Version 7.41:
  • Added $calc() // floor divide operator.
  • Fixed MDI window transparency bug under Windows 8.
  • Fixed file handling bug that would have caused settings to be reset if there was a drive error.
  • Fixed connection timeout not being applied while a STARTTLS handshake is in progress.
  • Reverted Channels List window change so that modes are included in the listing again.
  • Fixed MDI windows not maximizing fully to the right in some situations.
  • Fixed Log and Buffer submenus in window system menus not being set correctly.
  • Fixed confirm exit dialog bug that was not detecting if DCC gets were in progress.
  • Extended SSL support to allow connecting to SNI servers.
  • Fixed log reload bug that caused logs not to be reloaded before the start of a new year.
  • Fixed while loop bugs relating to multiple nested while loop combinations.
  • Fixed log viewer bug that caused it to freeze during a search.
  • Other changes and bug fixes.
Editors' Review 
mIRC gives you access to chat rooms centered around tons of different topics in which you can converse with users from all over the world. With this program, you can connect and disconnect with ease and enjoy hours of group or private conversations about whatever interests you.

 General
Publisher    mIRC
Publisher web site    http://www.mirc.com
Release Date    February 28, 2015
Date Added    March 01, 2015
Version    7.41

Monday, February 23, 2015

EasyVid - Download and Review

Editors' Review
From Trundof:
EasyVid uses MEncoder, MPlayer and FFMpeg to convert and encode almost any video format. EasyVid Video Converter supports the hard coding of subtitles into video and you can run up to 8 conversions at the same time. You even select between multiple audio and subtitle tracks or just choose to extract audio or video. Other advanced features such as deinterlacing or cropping can also be applied to videos.

YouTube Music Downloader - Download and Review

YouTube Video/Music Downloader

How to free download Video/Music from YouTube? Try our software!

Our Free YouTube Video/Music Downloader (aka YouTube Video/Music Converter) will let you download videos, music, from YouTube. All video and audio formats are supported. It automatically recognizes the video/music format and save it using the video name. 

Unlike other YouTube Video/Music downloader or website, Our YouTube Video/Music Downloader supports downloading both video and audio form YouTube.

We hate spyware and bundles. So our YouTube Video/Music Downloader is 100% free, clean and is guaranteed not to contain any spyware, malware or any unwanted software. You can verify this with these independent scan results by VirusTotal. 

Editors' Review
You may have noticed that many YouTube videos are actually music with some kind of visual accompaniment added, such as still image slideshows, cover art, psychedelic effects, and a particular favorite, a video camera pointed at a spinning turntable. You can download and save tunes from YouTube with the greatest of ease with YouTube Music Downloader -- videos, too. This free tool makes it easy to grab and save YouTube files to play later, share with your friends, and do the other things you can do with freely available content. But YouTube Music Downloader lets you quickly choose your audio output quality from a drop-down menu, which saves tons of time in two important ways: it eliminates the need to convert the raw download to your chosen format and bit rate, and it makes the job quick and easy enough that you'll actually save that song instead of just thinking about it. By the time you've hemmed and hawed, you could be done with the download.
YouTube Music Downloader's interface is pretty basic, which goes with the territory: fields for Video URL and Save To (destination folder) as well as the previously mentioned drop-down menu, which changes its options between audio and video formats when you check either MP3/Music or Video. A Status bar tracks the job; a check box tells the program to delete videos after conversion. A Skin button has Hue and Saturation sliders that can produce any interface color you'd like. Clicking Update informed us that ours was the program's latest version. That's all there is to YouTube Music Downloader's controls, except a Help button that accesses basic Web resources.
We browsed to YouTube, searched for a familiar tune, and copied its link from the search results. We pasted the URL into YouTube Music Downloader, selected our format (which depends on availability), and pressed Download and Convert (actually, "Download and Convert!" but we kept our powder dry until the results were in). The job completed in a few seconds. YouTube Music Downloader not only grabbed the tune but the cover art as well. The results more than earned the exclamation mark!

 

Google Chrome - Download and Review

Editors' Review

Chrome is the lightweight flagship browser that originated from an open-source Google project called Chromium. It is now one of the more widely used browsers, with a vast ecosystem of extensions and add-ons, a robust JavaScript engine, and a rapid-release development cycle that keeps it competitive.

Pros

Minimal UI: Chrome's overall UI has remained stable since version 1.0: a minimal two-row window with tabs resting above the address bar (Omnibox), three browser controls (Back, Forward, Stop/Reload), a star-shaped toggle for bookmarking, and a settings icon. As you install extensions, active icons appear to the right of the address bar; but beyond that, Google has strict restrictions on adding visible add-ons. That means no toolbars or any undesired overlays, which used to be standard practice. Chrome is minimal for a reason: to maintain a clean browsing experience with maximum screen space for websites. A new Immersive mode hides UI elements to create a full-screen experience without distractions.
Incognito mode: Incognito is Chrome's response to Mozilla's Private Browsing feature. Incognito opens a new window that disables history recording and tracking cookies, and reduces the amount of traceable breadcrumbs. Contrary to popular belief, this does not mean you are free to act unethically, as your ISP still tracks your activity. Chrome version 36 improves upon Incognito mode's design, which features cleaner pop-up notifications and alerts when the browser encounters a crash.
Dev tools: Under the hood, Chrome has some awesome features that make it developer friendly: hardware acceleration for rendering 3D CSS effects; Google's own NaCl (Native Client), which allows secure execution of C and C++ codes within the browser; and an in-house JavaScript engine that improves load times with every release. The Inspect Element tool lays out a website's Document Object Model intuitively for those who want to understand how a site's objects are interacting in HTML and CSS.

Cons

Internet Explorer: If you run an older computer, you may have to use Internet Explorer's insecure browser to get Chrome. Try not to stay in those waters for too long.

Bottom Line

Google has regularly set the standard for speed, stability, and security, so it's no surprise that Chrome's market share continues to rise, especially when combined with its mobile cousin on Android. Google's Internet browser is for casual user and developer alike.
Note: Review updated 7/18/2014.

Hotspot Shield - Download and Review

Benefits and Advantages of Hotspot Shield VPN Service


Every time you surf the Web, you expose yourself and your devices to multiple online threats & risks; Hackers could steal your passwords & financial information and the sites you visit may contain malware.
Hotspot Shield VPN software uses advanced encryption technology to secure your browsing session, detect and blocks malware, and enables you to access your favorite content from anywhere. You can even bypass geo-restrictions to unblock Facebook, unblock Youtube, or unblock any website in countries that censor content.
Our Hotspot Shield VPN service also protects your IP address, enabling you to surf the Web anonymously and privately.

Available on Windows, Mac, iPhone/iPad & Android



Hotspot Shield VPN works on Windows PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and Android devices.
All the great features of the desktop product, including WiFi security ,anonymous surfing, and malware protection are available for your mobile device as well.
An added bonus for mobile users is the data compression feature, which helps you to save bandwidth and $$$ on your phone bill.

    





Try the Elite Version and Get Enhanced Performance & Support

Upgrade to Hotspot Shield Elite
The standard Hotspot Shield version is a free, ad-supported VPN software. However, upgrading to Hotspot Shield Elite brings enhanced performance and support. The Hotspot Shield Elite Virtual Private Network comes with:
Editors' review
Hotspot Shield is a free tool and service that lets you connect to the Internet via Virtual Private Network (VPN). Hotspot Shield is mainly geared toward those who want a more secure connection when accessing the Internet from public Wi-Fi hotspots.

Pros

Value: Hotspot Shield is one of the largest free VPN services in the world. Though the free version is ad-supported, the paid Elite tier comes at an affordable price, with cross-platform support.
Customizable: Hotspot Shield allows you to connect from other countries. This not only helps to shield your connection origins, but it also potentially lets you access content that's available only from certain global regions.
Control: Hotspot Shield's dashboard gives you an overview of the protection status and data speeds for both uploads and downloads, allowing you to monitor your connection performance.

Cons

Ad disruptive: Hotspot Shield Free occasionally shows up as a pop-up or header on the top of your browser. While this window may be closed, it does become rather tedious to have to close it every time.
Limited connection: The free version does not allow you to connect from other locations or regions.

Bottom Line

Hotspot Shield is a lightweight VPN solution that we recommend for anyone who's even slightly concerned about privacy. The free version may be riddled with a few ads, but it's a service that's worth the price, especially if you find yourself frequently accessing the Internet from public places. Hotspot Shield is a valuable service and remains competitive with other premium VPN services.