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IObit's latest version release brings Malware Fighter to 2.0 and showcases a much more eye-popping design that is more consistent with the modern look and feel of Windows 8.

You'll be greeted with four basic options: Scan, Protect, Update, and Action Center. Since version 1.7, IObit's latest design feels much cleaner and certainly more intuitive for the average user. The original overview graph that the previous version opened with is now tucked away.

Previously included features like cloud scanning and quarantine lists are still present, but reside in a more modernized settings panel to the … Read more

Ringtone Maker is one of dozens of apps on the App Store designed to create ringtones from the music and songs already on your phone. While it is possible to purchase ringtones from the iTunes store, and the limits on certain tracks in terms of DRM make it hard to convert any track to a ringtone, this is a well-crafted app that works quite well for free.

Open Ringtone Maker and you can choose to either review the online collection of ringtones created by the app's users--usually home recordings or indie bands--or to make your own ringtone from your … Read more

ShotStrip is a unique and ingeniously crafted app that combines the best of services like Pinterest and Instagram to create a curated photo community that allows you to be as creative and interactive as you want. With numerous features and tools and a robust online community, this is sure to be the next big thing in photo sharing apps for the iPhone.

The concept of ShotStrip is simple. Take up to six photos and combine them into a strip. Name the strip and make the photos thematic or as random as you want. For each photo, you can edit and … Read more

The most impressive thing about PowerSketch is that it works on the fly. There are many photo editing or augmentation apps that allow you to change the features in a photo or make it look different than it should after the fact, but PowerSketch shows the final image as you view it, within the camera screen. Even more impressive, it can do the same thing for videos, making this one of the better photo manipulation apps on the App Store.

PowerSketch is a well-designed app from start to finish. Designed to look like a notebook and featuring a number of … Read more

Why create a new interface when you can borrow heavily from Apple, a company that has become known the world over for its commitment to exceptional interface design? That's the logic behind SVG Notes and it works surprisingly well, organizing notes in an iBooks-style layout that makes finding your recent notes easy, and using the app, pleasant.

This is a note-taking app, but it goes deeper than that by integrating a number of other features. To start, you'll be greeted with a bookshelf interface that looks a lot like iBooks. Tap the Library button and you can view … Read more

InstaEffect FX Free is the lite, trial version of InstaEffect FX HD--an app designed so you can quickly and easily add special effects to the foreground and background of your images. The app is simple, straightforward, and in the trial version, relatively limited, but in many ways exceeds expectations, making it a good option for light image effect editing.

When you first open InstaEffect FX Free you'll notice that it's very similar to other free image editing apps. Load an image from your library or take a new one with your camera and you can start editing it … Read more

Whether it was an amusement park or a stand on the boardwalk, you probably remember those cardboard cutouts that you could put your face into to take on the body of someone else. They are often funny or ridiculous and they work well in any setting. So why not create an app that does the same thing with the photos on your phone or iPad? That's the thinking behind Face in Hole HD, and while it works as advertised there are some limitations.

The idea of Face in Hole HD is elementary, and creating the subsequent photos is as … Read more

Pinterest exploded onto the scene a couple years ago as the biggest, hottest new social network on the Web, and for good reason. The clever integration of Facebook and Twitter functionality with an image-focused social network in which users could pin, comment on, and share just about anything cool they find was perfect. One of the driving factors in the success of Pinterest, however, is the exceptional mobile apps developed by the company. Today's iOS app continues to be one of the best social experiences on Apple's devices, and for good reason.

To start, Pinterest is designed for … Read more

Musicians who create their own songs may need an application to track their collaborations. TuneSmith for Mac allows these users to monitor copyright, deadlines, and submissions of their original songs, but it lacks additional capabilities that would be welcome with this type of application.

Installation of this freeware program was complicated because the downloaded folder had several files that could be installed, although it eventually loaded quickly once the proper one was selected. A formal tutorial would have been a good addition, since TuneSmith for Mac's menus were difficult to interpret. The three main menus divide the program according … Read more