The speed at which some programs update can be frightening. While some may alert you every time an update becomes available, quickly and (relatively) effortlessly installing the new version for you, others remain stubbornly outdated. Who knows what bug fixes, performance improvements and new features you might be missing out on?

You can, of course, stay up to date by regularly trawling this very site for your favourite software, but why put yourself through all that hassle when this app exists to make the task of updating your software that much easier?

The Downloadcrew UpdateScanner – as its name implies – will scan all of the software installed on your PC and compare it with our database. If there’s an updated version of your software on the site, you’ll be alerted to the fact.

You can either review updates manually, click “Download them now” to view them all in a single, convenient window or report unrecognised applications to us for further investigation. You can then update the ones that interest you and, hey presto, job done.

The app will then continue to monitor your system, alerting you to new updates as well as free software giveaways on the site, so you’ll never miss out on a full, free commercial app giveaway again.

You’ll need a free Downloadcrew account to use the service – click here to register.

Version 2 of the UpdateScanner features an "App Store" (name change forthcoming), alerting you to the latest and most popular downloads on the site, news and tips from sister site Softwarecrew and a selection of great savings to be made on software purchases.

Important: note that the UpdateScanner does not support betas and unreleased versions. If you install an alpha, beta or newer version than we have on Downloadcrew, then you'll receive a notification than the installed version is newer than the latest version! Also, if a developer gives their software an obscure version number (Paragon Software products are good examples), then these are also unsupported.

Build 2.2.0.0 is a minor maintenance release which includes these improvements/fixes:

- Rearranged user-interface with emphasis on 'Your Updates'

The speed at which some programs update can be frightening. While some may alert you every time an update becomes available, quickly and (relatively) effortlessly installing the new version for you, others remain stubbornly outdated. Who knows what bug fixes, performance improvements and new features you might be missing out on?

You can, of course, stay up to date by regularly trawling this very site for your favourite software, but why put yourself through all that hassle when this app exists to make the task of updating your software that much easier?

The Downloadcrew UpdateScanner – as its name implies – will scan all of the software installed on your PC and compare it with our database. If there’s an updated version of your software on the site, you’ll be alerted to the fact.

You can either review updates manually, click “Download them now” to view them all in a single, convenient window or report unrecognised applications to us for further investigation. You can then update the ones that interest you and, hey presto, job done.

The app will then continue to monitor your system, alerting you to new updates as well as free software giveaways on the site, so you’ll never miss out on a full, free commercial app giveaway again.

You’ll need a free Downloadcrew account to use the service – click here to register.

Version 2 of the UpdateScanner features an "App Store" (name change forthcoming), alerting you to the latest and most popular downloads on the site, news and tips from sister site Softwarecrew and a selection of great savings to be made on software purchases.

Important: note that the UpdateScanner does not support betas and unreleased versions. If you install an alpha, beta or newer version than we have on Downloadcrew, then you'll receive a notification than the installed version is newer than the latest version! Also, if a developer gives their software an obscure version number (Paragon Software products are good examples), then these are also unsupported.

Build 2.2.0.0 is a minor maintenance release which includes these improvements/fixes:

- Rearranged user-interface with emphasis on 'Your Updates'

Not everyone gets by with the default browser on their computer, and when it comes to picking an alternative, Firefox is one of the most popular out there, having clawed back support from upstart rivals like Google Chrome and Opera in recent years by switching to a rapid release cycle, ensuring major new versions of the browser are released every six weeks.

It’s true to say that individual updates often fail to deliver anything substantial, but cumulatively they roll together to produce a web browser that is radically different to the one – version 4 – that marked the start of a new era back in 2011.

Some of the landmark new features we’ve seen include a per-site Permissions Manager, enhanced Sync options, tabs on demand, silent updates and add-on enhancements. We also saw the launch of specific development branches including UX, which has led to the new Australis user interface, which sees a streamlined tab, revamped menu and customisation features.

One group particularly well served by the rapid release cycle have been developers, and a plethora of tools from Javascript Scratchpad (from Firefox 6) to full-blown Developer Toolbar (from Firefox 16) have worked their way into successive builds as Firefox courts this important community of users.

And underpinning this all are a constantly evolving set of performance improvements, standards support (HTML5 and CSS3 are constantly being added to, for instance) and bug fixes.

Firefox 72 is now in the stable channel. Improvements/changes include:

- Firefox’s Enhanced Tracking Protection marks a major new milestone in our battle against cross-site tracking: we now block fingerprinting scripts by default for all users, taking a new bold step in the fight for our users’ privacy.
- Firefox replaces annoying notification request pop-ups with a more delightful experience, by default for all users. The pop-ups no longer interrupt your browsing, in its place, a speech bubble will appear in the address bar when you interact with the site.
- Picture-in-picture video expands in Firefox for Mac and Linux: Select the blue icon from the right edge of a video to pop open a floating window so you can keep watching while working in other tabs or apps. Learn how the feature works.

LibreOffice has long since moved on from being an offshoot of the OpenOffice project. It's now the go-to alternative to Microsoft Office, enjoying regular development and a constant tweaking to keep it up to date, stable and secure.

While LibreOffice lacks the slick presentation of rival Windows freebie Kingsoft Office Suite Free and its Office-inspired ribbon interface, it has the major advantage of offering a full set of office applications, including database, drawing package and mathematical tool on top of the requisite word processor, spreadsheet and presentation tool found in most free office suites.

While it’s definitely more navigable than before thanks to better placement of tools and visual previews of styles direct from the main toolbar, it still looks a little dated, despite the refreshed icon sets. Nevertheless, this is still a powerful suite capable of meeting most people's needs, making this zero-cost alternative to Office a valuable tool to have in your armoury.

Ever-improving support for third-party file types (including both new and classic Office formats) means you're not cutting yourself off from industry standards while cross-platform support means you can run LibreOffice on Windows, Mac or Linux without having to retrain yourself to a new way of working each time.

What else is new in LibreOffice 6.3 (see changelog for more info)?

- Writer and Calc performance has been improved by an order of magnitude based on documents provided by end users: text files with different bookmarks, tables and embedded fonts, large ODS/XLSX spreadsheets, and Calc files with VLOOKUP load and render more quickly. Saving Calc spreadsheets as XLS files is also faster.
- The Tabbed Compact version of the NotebookBar user interface, introduced in LibreOffice 6.2, is now available for Writer, Calc, Impress and Draw. It leaves more space for user documents, spreadsheets and presentations on laptops with wide screens. In addition, the new Contextual Single UI is ready for Writer and Draw.
- In Calc, a new drop-down widget in the formula bar replaces the old Sum tool, giving the user quick access to the most frequently used functions. Also, a new FOURIER function has been added, to compute the discrete Fourier transform of an input array.
- Export as PDF has been improved with the support for the standard PDF/A-2 document format, which is required by several organizations for long term file storage. In addition, the design of editable PDF forms has been simplified with the addition of the Form menu to Writer, to further improve one of LibreOffice strongest features.
- Documents can now be redacted to remove or hide sensitive information such as personal data before exporting or sharing the file, to help companies or organisations to comply with regulations.
- On Windows, a proper console mode was added, with better output and error codes. This makes it easier to use LibreOffice to perform batch operations such as printing or converting many documents.
- Interoperability with Microsoft Office proprietary file formats has been improved in several areas with export support for DOTX document templates and XLTX spreadsheet templates, import of charts from DOCX drawingML group shapes, import/export of SmartArt from PPTX files, to preserve editing capabilities in PowerPoint, and better XLSX Pivot table interoperability.

Malwarebytes 4 is the next generation of the popular malware killer, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.

The product is a combination of every Malwarebytes technology, including anti-malware, anti-exploit, anti-ransomware, web protection and more.

The interface is straightforward and familiar. A dashboard displays your current status, you can launch a scan with a click, and most of the time there's nothing else to do at all.

This doesn't mean you won't notice any changes. Despite all the extra technologies, for instance, Malwarebytes says system scans are now 3x to 4x faster.

Experienced users will also find an array of options, switches and settings to help tweak the program.

To take a single example, you don't just have an option to turn the anti-exploit on or off. You can also configure 6 separate six component technologies (DEP, anti-heapspraying, ASLR, more), eight memory protection methods, five application behaviour checks, five Java technologies, and individually define the types of apps where each of these will be used (browsers, Office, PDF readers, media players, more).

Please note, this version will automatically update any existing Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, Anti-Exploit and Anti-Ransomware installations to a 14-day trial of Malwarebytes 4.

What's new in 4.0 (see changelog for more)?

- New Malwarebytes Katana engine provides improved malware detection.
- Now registers as primary cybersecurity program in Windows Defender Security Center.
- User interface redesign for improved user experience.
- New Threat Center integration to learn more about any threats detected.
- New lightweight installer ensures the latest version is always installed.
- Improved performance and faster scans.
- Numerous miscellaneous improvements and fixes.

TeamViewer 15 is the latest version of the popular remote access/control program.

We handle support for novice computer users and you’ll be surprised how many of these customers do not understand the basics of computing. Sell them security software and many can’t install the new suite as they’ve never fully removed the previous suite. So frustrating.

The easiest solution is to employ TeamViewer and remotely advise the user via their computer than either over the phone or by email. It’s quicker to perform a task yourself than guide, which has made the likes of TeamViewer a godsend for any remote support facility.

As with previous editions, you can use it to access your own computer across the internet, maybe recovering some important document you've left at home. Or you can use it to remotely control another PC where TeamViewer is also installed; so if a friend's having technical troubles, you can log on to their system, even through most firewalls, and troubleshoot the computer as though you were sitting in front of it.

What's new in TeamViewer 15.1.3937 (see the changelog for more info)?  

- Improved quality for audio transmission within a remote control connection and within a TeamViewer meeting.
- Simplified and clearer choices in the Advanced Options to define the automatic update behavior of the client.
- TeamViewer is now fully compatible on Windows 10 v19H2 (November 2019 update).