The Daily Download: Software tips, news, and opinions from Download.com editors

Featured Freeware: K9 Web Blocker

Seth Rosenblatt — Tue, 13 May 2008 07:00:00 GMT

For a free Internet filter, K9 Web Blocker does its job well, providing a broad collection of options for customizing your remote Web supervision needs. The app comes with a handful or so of predesigned filters and an option to customize. With more than 50 categories for organizing Web sites, and the keyword-free proprietary K9 rating system, the Web monitoring and blocking aspects of the software functioned well. K9 also has categories for blocking sites that have been detected as potential malware threats. Equally impressive, and a little bit scary, was the log that detailed not just blocked Web sites but also every Web site visited.

K9 does have some drawbacks. The only big one is that there's no chatware filter, which leaves holes for predation. Other less serious problems include Web site-only registration, and a control panel accessible only via the Internet. Uninstalling the app requires three laborious steps, and it's possible--although not likely--that an enterprising user could disable K9 on a shared computer because the password is e-mailed to the person who registered the program.

First Look video: FLV Player

Seth Rosenblatt — Mon, 12 May 2008 22:25:00 GMT

Although it's not bursting at the seams with features and customizations, FLV Player should appeal to users who need a lightweight tool for watching Flash-formatted videos. The freeware program can also stream content directly off the Internet. CNET Download.com Editor Seth Rosenblatt takes it for a spin in this First Look video.

Featured Freeware: GIMP

Seth Rosenblatt — Mon, 12 May 2008 07:00:00 GMT

The volunteer developers of The GIMP have been working hard to develop a polished, user-friendly, and freely distributed image editor. Available for Windows and Mac users, and in a portable edition for the PC, the separated palette windows may disturb those users who are used to more traditional layouts. Still, your comfort level should grow exponentially as you discover how pain-free the program is.

One of the most powerful general-purpose image editors around, the GNU Image Manipulation Program is eminently comparable to Photoshop. Older features include channels, layers and masks, filters and effects, tabbed palettes, editable text tools, and color operations such as levels. New improvements include scalable brushes, revised selection tools, a new color menu, full-screen editing, a new crop tool, improved printing, red-eye removal, perspective clone, lens distortion, and more. It even has regex-based pattern matching for power users.

Extremely powerful and easy to work with, GIMP is ideal for both amateur and pro photographers, Web designers, or anyone who wants to create and edit professional-quality digital images on a budget.

Featured Freeware: Pando

Seth Rosenblatt — Sun, 11 May 2008 07:00:00 GMT

Emailing large attachments has never been easy, but Pando for Windows and Mac combines P2P tech with a clean interface to make sharing files or folders as large as 1 GB a cinch--and free.

Circumventing FTP servers, online storage, and tertiary e-mail accounts, Pando either generates a link for instant messages and Web pages, or e-mails your recipient a tiny attachment. When you click that attachment or link, Pando connects to its server and downloads the "package," as the Pando people call the contents of your attachment. You even have 14 days to grab the "package" before it gets deleted from their server. Other useful features include support for multiple addressees, Yahoo and Outlook plug-ins that automatically Pando-ize attachments, and a record of how many times your package has been downloaded.

Easy to use, Pando could drastically change how files are transferred between small groups of people.

First Look: AVG Anti-Virus Free 8

Seth Rosenblatt — Sat, 10 May 2008 19:00:00 GMT

Seventy-five million downloads can't be wrong, right? Phenomenally popular security program AVG Free has upgraded to Version 8, and Editor Seth Rosenblatt takes a first look at the revamp.

New features include a blessing of a new interface that's clean and easy to use, LinkScanner to minimize the risk of clicking on dangerous links during searches, and more.

Featured Freeware: Gspace

Seth Rosenblatt — Sat, 10 May 2008 07:00:00 GMT

This highly recommended Firefox extension takes the small pile of gigabytes that the Google folks throw at you for your Gmail account and turns them into a drive with storage and music-playing capabilities.

Accessible via a toolbar button or from the menu bar, Gspace opens a new tab with an FTP-style interface. You can transfer files by highlighting them and hitting the directional arrow. Drag-and-drop is not available, but the plug-in is still replete with goodies. Uploading a file sends an e-mail with it attached to your Gmail, so you can create Gmail's native filters and folders to keep track of files you've uploaded. Deleting the file from Gspace deletes the e-mail.

Gspace also allows users to switch between different Gmail accounts, has an In-box button so you can quickly jump back to the standard Gmail interface, and supports different uses of the virtual drive. These include a Music mode, which can be used with a Flash music player to create a Web-based MP3 player, and a Photo mode that didn't work for us at the time this was written. The rest did, and it made home-to-office file transfers almost as easy as using Google itself.

Killer Download: Switching apps with class

Jason Parker — Sat, 10 May 2008 01:03:00 GMT

(Credit: CNET Networks)

As you may know, I use both Mac and Windows PCs at work and write software reviews for both. In my experience, each platform has its strengths and weaknesses, but both can be extremely powerful if you have the right software. To me, it's not about picking which platform is the best, it's about finding the software you need to get the job done.

One of the great additions to the Mac OS in recent iterations is the visual program and document management system called Expose. On a Windows machine, you probably switch apps by using the trusty Alt-Tab key combination and Mac users have this option too (Command-Tab). But with Expose, you have the ability to switch between apps and documents by hitting the F9, F10, and F11 keys to display them in different ways. The F9 key quickly spreads all open apps out on your screen so you can click which one you want to work on. F10 fans out all open windows in the current program so you can get to your chosen document. F11 is used when you want to push all of your apps out of the way to get to something on the desktop.

As a Windows user, you might be perfectly happy with your Alt-Tab setup, and Windows Vista users can now use Window-Tab to quickly flip through apps. But I've found some programs that offer similar functionality to Expose or add other options for finding the apps you want. These programs offer a few different methods for displaying open apps and documents, and I think you'll find they complement or replace Windows XP's Alt-Tab system and Vista's app switching feature very nicely.

Instead of just icons, this app lets you see screenshots of the program with Alt-Tab.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

TaskSwitchXP Pro is an XP only app that enhances the Alt-Tab functionality so you can see the programs you have running. This one is not on par with the Expose method of displaying open apps, but it does add a way to visually see the programs currently running on your computer. There are a number of options for changing things like fonts and certain display attributes, but they don't change the end result significantly. What you get is a step-up from the regular Alt-Tab with a visual way to see which program to switch to.

This one is sleek and smooth, but you'll need the RAM and processor power to use it.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

DExposE2 works on both XP and Vista and is probably the closest to Expose on the Mac, giving you control over your apps using the F9, F10, and F11 keys. Just like Expose, you'll be able to minimize your apps to fit on the screen so you can pick the program you want to use. You also get the option to set up other hot keys or move your mouse to the corner of the screen to activate. It offers three levels of graphical quality for the minimized windows, so choose lower quality options if you're low on RAM. I experienced a crash with this app, but most users seem to rave about how well it works. It might just be me.

The zooming feature for Admiral along with extra program functions make it tough to beat.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Admiral also works on both XP and Vista and offers multiple-app minimization like Expose through hotkeys or hot corners just like DExposE2. This one might offer the smoothest transition to displaying your apps on the desktop and mousing over each app zooms it in closer so you can make sure you have what you're looking for. But Admiral also offers a process manager that lets you shut down frozen apps and processes; a quick-launch window that lets you open programs by typing in a few letters; and several other features for program management. Registration is $7.99, but you'll be able to use all the program's features during the trial.

If you're not happy with Windows XP's default Alt-Tab functionality or Vista's method to flip through apps, check out one of these programs. If you have a better app for seeing all your programs, let us know in the comments!

First Look: FrostWire

Seth Rosenblatt — Sat, 10 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

If you're looking for something like LimeWire's genetically enhanced clone, look no further than FrostWire.

Featuring an ice-blue interface and all the features of LimeWire Pro, FrostWire should warm you up with fewer download restrictions and a connection-monitoring tab. Editor Seth Rosenblatt will show you what's hot and what's not in this First Look video.

Featured Freeware: Avast

Seth Rosenblatt — Fri, 09 May 2008 07:00:00 GMT

If you're into freeware antivirus and antimalware apps, chances are you're running either AVG Free, Avira Antivir, or Avast. Avast Home Edition guards your PC and the network with multiple shields that scan executables and files. You can select parameters for scanning, and even choose wildcards to exclude specific file types. You can adjust the sensitivity level for the program's detectors when it comes to scanning downloaded files, instant messages, e-mails, and a host of P2Ps. Its efficient interface opens up window after window to tweak its settings to your liking, for novice to advanced-level protection.

Though it took quite some time to run, we're impressed with this application's boot-time antivirus scan. Fortunately, if you're in a pinch you can bypass it. If malicious contents are detected, Avast comes to the rescue with handy virus cleanup tools. Even some decent PC controls are handed out here. You can block certain URLs and file operations, such as writing to files or even renaming, deleting, or formatting them. With immediate real-time protection, clockwork updates, and much more, this free software is highly regarded in our book.

Yahoo Go 3.0 beta a go for Windows phones

Jessica Dolcourt — Thu, 08 May 2008 23:44:00 GMT

Windows Mobile users now have a green light to try Yahoo Go (video review) on their Windows Mobile phones.

The third version of Yahoo's all-in-one content application for smartphones debuted in January in beta form, and with it came tricks for greater customization. Users can add a variety of widgets to the carousel and quick links to the start page, and otherwise personalize the source of mobile content. The full list of supported Windows Mobile phones can be found here.