Paragon Backup & Recovery 16 is a very comprehensive backup tool with a vast array of professional backup and disk management features.

The program can back up a hard drive's master boot record, its first track, individual partitions or complete drives, for instance. It can also run file-based backups on the files and folders you specify. You can run a quick backup of your documents, music, videos, music or other media files. And there's even an E-mail backup, that will save your messages, accounts and address book (Outlook, Outlook Express and Windows Mail are supported).

You're able to run full, differential or incremental backups, the latter including only new or modified files for improved performance. A scheduler allows backup jobs to be run when you're not around. And your backup files can be saved to local, external or remote drives, FTP servers, or burned to disc.

Virtualisation support allows you to copy your entire system to a virtual drive (all the main formats are supported), ready for use in your virtualisation tool of choice.

Restoring data from backups is easy. You can selectively restore just the files and folders you need from within the program (even if they're held within a complete hard drive image). And if you purchase the program then you'll be able to create a recovery disc to restore your system drive even if Windows will no longer start (though beware, that is not possible in this trial version - don't rely on it as your main backup tool).

There are a host of useful extras, from basic hard drive partitioning tools, to an Undelete Wizard, secure drive wiping option, hard drive sector editor, and more. And there's more. You can create incremental disk images, helping to save backup time and storage space; you get the latest backup engine, for even better performance; and it supports the very latest hard drives, including AFD's and hard drives over 2TB in size.

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becomes available, quickly and (relatively) effortlessly installing the new version for you, others remain stubbornly outdated.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'