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 (Firefox 6) to full-blown Developer Toolbar (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 61.0 is now in the stable channel. Improvements/changes include:

- Faster page rendering with Quantum CSS improvements and the new retained display list feature
- Faster switching between tabs on Windows and Linux
- WebExtensions now run in their own process on MacOS
- Convenient access to more search engines: You can now add search engines to the address bar “Search with” tool from the page action menu when on a webpage that provides an OpenSearch plugin
- Share links from Firefox for MacOS more easily: You can now share the URL of an active tab from the page actions menu in the address bar
- Improved security
- A more consistent user experience: Improvements for dark theme support across the entire Firefox user interface
- More customization for tab management: added support to allow WebExtensions to hide tabs
- Improved bookmark syncing

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 (Firefox 6) to full-blown Developer Toolbar (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 61.0 is now in the stable channel. Improvements/changes include:

- Faster page rendering with Quantum CSS improvements and the new retained display list feature
- Faster switching between tabs on Windows and Linux
- WebExtensions now run in their own process on MacOS
- Convenient access to more search engines: You can now add search engines to the address bar “Search with” tool from the page action menu when on a webpage that provides an OpenSearch plugin
- Share links from Firefox for MacOS more easily: You can now share the URL of an active tab from the page actions menu in the address bar
- Improved security
- A more consistent user experience: Improvements for dark theme support across the entire Firefox user interface
- More customization for tab management: added support to allow WebExtensions to hide tabs
- Improved bookmark syncing

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 (see changelog for more info)?

- Boost your productivity. In LibreOffice 6.0, a new ePUB export filter has been added, so you can save your documents as e-books. The user interface customisation and special character dialogs have been redesigned, while OpenPGP keys can be used to sign documents on all desktop platforms (with experimental encryption support). Also, the Help system has been modernised to be more attractive and easier to use.
- Edit documents with ease. In Writer, a Form menu has been added, making it easier to include interactive forms in your documents. New table styles are available, while the Find toolbar now has a drop-down list of search types, to speed up navigation. In addition, mail merge operations can now use tables inside Writer itself as data sources.
- Work smarter with spreadsheets. In Calc, new commands have been added for selecting unprotected cells on spreadsheets. Using the File > Export dialog, you can now export a cell range selection (or a group of shapes) in JPG or PNG imported. Finally, the Links dialog has been simplified, while three new ODF 1.2-compliant functions have been implemented, for finding and replacing text using byte positions.
- Perfect presentations. Ten great new templates have been added to Impress, to make your presentations shine, while the default aspect ratio is now 16:9, so your new presentations work with widescreen displays straight away.
- LibreOffice online - your office suite, anywhere. In LibreOffice Online, the cloud-based version of the suite, user avatars are now supported and displayed in comments. Dialogs have been added and updated, while spell checking is now available across Writer, Calc and Impress. An interactive horizontal ruler has been added to Writer, and Calc now supports basic editing of charts.

Malwarebytes 3 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 willl automatically update any existing Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, Anti-Exploit and Anti-Ransomware installations to a 14-day trial of Malwarebytes 3.0.

What's new in 3.5.1 (see changelog for more)?

- TBC

TeamViewer 13 is the latest version of the popular remote access/control program.

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 13.1 (see the changelog for more info)?  

- Single-Window User Interface. 9 out of 10 users are extremely satisfied with the new design, that condenses and simplifies multiple windows and tools into one easy-to-use, re-sizable client window, that also remains open when establishing a remote control connection.
- Reports in servicecamp. Use the in-built reporting functionality, or instantly integrate servicecamp data into tools such as Excel, Power BI, and Tableau, or any other data environment you are familiar with, to gain even greater insights.
- Active Directory Connector. Ensure the right people always have access to a company TeamViewer account. Use the new graphical user interface of the AD Connector to configure and synchronize multiple AD groups, execute test runs, and set up scheduled synchronizations.

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

- Now uses https with a secure connection to the update service
- Removed XP and Vista support