Windows software

An about-face in Internet Explorer 10 shows Microsoft is not merely backing off from its hostility toward Flash Player, but actually warming up to the Adobe Systems browser plug-in for competitive reasons.

In September 2011, Microsoft declared that browser plug-ins are a relic from the Internet's early days, calling them bad for battery life, security, reliability, and privacy, and said that it would ban them when IE10 was running with Windows 8's Metro user interface, now called the "immersive UI."

But Microsoft gave Flash a reprieve in May 2012 by building a special version of Adobe'… Read more

I am a PC user and a Mac user. My PC is an Alienware that allows me to play my MMORPGs for whenever time permits me to do so and the graphics on that little powerful machine makes me sing. My Mac, on the other hand, is primarily for work and is used on a daily basis for simple tasks. Luckily for me, my semi-new PC is well-maintained and doesn't give me a lot of problems anymore, but until this one, I have had my share of slow, problematic PCs that used to keep me up at night, literally. … Read more

Have you ever wanted to watch the latest movie trailers and music videos or stream shows in the background while you work? Now you can with a little homegrown program called VideoGhost from Greedy Glutton Software.

How does it work? VideoGhost can be installed on your computer or run as a standalone product. After launching, you will see that it is a third-party browser with a controllable opacity setting and options to stay fixed on your desktop. The process is relatively simple with these hot keys:

Taking a page from Opera and Amazon playbooks, then writing on it some more, Google is using its own servers to speed up page loading on its mobile version of Chrome.

The feature, called proxy browsing, is enabled in the Chrome 26 beta for Android, though it must be manually activated through the chrome://flags interface by selecting "Enable Data Compression Proxy." With proxy browsing, a server with a fast Internet connection and more processing horsepower than a mobile device loads the Web page on behalf of that mobile device.

The chief advantage of the approach is that … Read more

The first results of Opera's WebKit brain transplant are now available for people to try: a beta version of Opera for Android.

The new version uses Android-native user-interface elements but preserves many Opera features such as Speed Dial. It gets some new features, too, such as Off-road Mode to enable a proxy-browsing technology designed for slow network connections and the Discovery tool for people who want to browse content tailored to their interests.

The Oslo, Norway-based company announced in February that it's scrapped its own Presto engine, except in its TV browser product line, in favor of the … Read more

UPDATE: 12:20pm PT, March 4, 2013 Due to popular demand, I was able to secure more license keys for CNET members from the developer of this software and am extending this free giveaway until 11:59pm PT, Tuesday, March 5, 2013. If you forgot to grab one, now is your chance. Enjoy!

What's not to like about a weather app that actually shows you what the weather is going to be like? Whether that be your hometown or a city that you are traveling to, YoWindow will get you as prepared as you can be for your trip … Read more

The new version of the Avast security suite focuses on repairing the past mistakes of Windows. Debuting today exclusively with CNET's Download.com, Avast 8 addresses some of today's most pressing security concerns but leaves at least one other growing problem unresolved.

All told, Avast Free Antivirus 8 (download), Avast Pro Antivirus 8 (download), Avast Internet Security 8 (download) and the new top-tier suite, Avast Premier 8 (download) command upwards of 170 million active users, making Avast the most popular consumer security suite by a long shot.

Although the suite leaves privacy in the cold, the rest of … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Opera Software has dropped the new engine into its browser and now has begun revving it up.

At the Mobile World Congress show here, the company began showing for the first time its new WebKit-based version of Opera for Android. That browser is the first product from a completely overhauled product line and technology strategy for the company based in Oslo, Norway.

Opera is changing the browser engine at the core of its software, dumping its own Presto for the open-source WebKit used in Chrome and Safari. It's a radical change in many ways: many engineers are changing … Read more

Internet Explorer 10 debuted on Windows 8, and until now was only available to people who bought into Microsoft's big Windows redo. That changes today, as Redmond rolls out IE 10 for Windows 7 (download).

The update brings enormous changes to the browser, and mostly for the better. Internet Explorer 10 is not only faster and more stable than the current IE for Windows 7, version 9, it's also far more standards-compliant.

"Gone are the days when developers aspire to build for the lowest common denominator. The way the Web becomes like an application is when you … Read more