Archive for the ‘Free Software’ Category

Tax software deal: Save $10 on TurboTax and get a $10 Amazon gift card – Mashable

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Save $10, get a $10 gift card: Select editions of TurboTax are on sale for $10 off and include a free $10 Amazon gift card. But hurry, this deal is for March 17 only.

Filing taxes is not exactly the most fun thing in the world, but Amazon has a little incentive to motivate you to at least get started. As of March 17, select editions of TurboTax, including Deluxe, Business, and Premier are on sale for $10 off and come with a bonus $10 Amazon gift card.

You don't actually have to do your taxes to get the gift card just buy the software, and then file on your own time. Even if you owe taxes, the gift card still sends a little money your way.

TurboTax offers a few different versions of its software depending on your tax situation, whether you have a mortgage, own a business, have education expenses, etc. They're all under the same Amazon listing, so you can easily look through each option before deciding which one fits your situation best.

TurboTax makes it easy to do your taxes W-2s, investments, and mortgage information can all be imported automatically from participating companies. Meaning you won't have to go line by line and manually enter every value. Even if you have little to no idea what you're doing when it comes to taxes, you'll likely be able to master TurboTax filing.

If you still need to do your taxes, hurry up and take advantage of this TurboTax deal at Amazon because it's only active on March 17.

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Tax software deal: Save $10 on TurboTax and get a $10 Amazon gift card - Mashable

5 Malware Removal Tools That Keep You Safe – G2

Malware, a malicious program infecting your computers and networks, can have a troublesome impact on your devices.

The termmalwareincludes a range of malicious software varying from computer viruses, trojans, ransomware, spyware, to others. It can take you through a bumpy road of downtime, financial losses, and reputation, especially when it affects your work. To avoid it infesting your assets, you should have protective anti-malware tools installed on your computer. Malware removal toolswill help you detect and remove malicious programs, keeping your IT assets safe.

1. Symantec Endpoint Protection

2. Malwarebytes for Business

3. ESET PROTECT Advanced

4. Webroot Business Endpoint Protection

5. MVISION Endpoint Security

*These antivirus software are suitable for large organizations.

There are various ways through which malware can enter your assets. The most common one is through emails sent in a phishing attempt. Such emails hold attachments disguised as genuine files that contain malicious programs embedded in them.

You should always be cautious about downloading them or opening an untrusted link. When you open a malicious link, it directs you to a compromised website that automatically downloads malware payload to your device.

Discover how different malware work differently to gain unauthorized access in this comprehensive guide to malware.

Attackers can also exploit software vulnerabilities to deliver malware, making it crucial for you to become technologically equipped in combating the potential threat.

Endpoint antivirus softwareis a tool capable of preventing and detecting malware in an endpoint device. Most of these tools have firewalls to prevent worms, trojans, adware, or viruses from entering a system.

This antivirus and anti-malware software provides several features like detecting and identifying potential malware, including tools to assess a devices health. It alerts administrators on finding a malware infection.

Most of the tools mentioned in the software list below are suitable for large organizations. If you need a free version, take a look at the top free antivirus software.

To qualify for the endpoint antivirus software list, a product must:

* Below are the five leading antivirus software from G2's Winter 2021 Grid Report. Some reviews may be edited for clarity.

Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP)protects your endpoint devices from malware attacks, including targeted attacks, advanced persistent threats (APT), and zero-day threats with a layers approach to security.

It unifies single and virtual protection with a single management console, delivering a scaled orchestrated response and high performance.

Symantec has done a great job with their centralized management portal. The agent/client itself is easy to deploy once you understand Symantec's interface. Policy management could use some work, but given the class of software, it covers the basics and then some. Email notifications are a must for me, and this software does it well. It doesn't matter if the event was resolved automatically or not; admins always get notifications.

-Symantec Endpoint Protection Review, Chad G.

Theres no side of the product that I dont like. We have provided high-level protection against viruses and malware on our workstation and client computers with SEP. Therefore, we are satisfied with the product.

-Symantec Endpoint Protection Review, Ali T.

Malwarebytesprotect organizations and their employees from malicious programs that can threaten cybersecurity. It comes with advanced endpoint protection capabilities that stop malware and block suspicious activities with a small footprint agent.

This security software helps organizations quickly investigate, detect, remediate, and recover from advanced threats to ensure that compromised devices are back online and ready for use.

Logging in to the dashboard to get an overview of all of my clients is very helpful. It shows me which endpoints need a reboot, a scan, or a software upgrade. I can push all of those things outright from the dashboard. I also have the ability in a single click to drill down deeper to the endpoint level from the dashboard.

-Malwarebytes for Business Review, Thomas K.

Cost is higher than other endpoint security products, and it may take a while for a novice administrator to understand how to configure the cloud console properly.

-Malwarebytes for Business Review, Selina B.

ESET PROTECT Advancedprovides multiple defense layers to detect malware before, during, and after execution. It balances performance, detection, and false positives with a dynamic equilibrium of machine learning, big data, advanced behavioral analytics, and human expertise.

Eset endpoint security has a low impact on pcs resources and does not slow down the computer. Eset endpoint security helped us to manage all endpoints from one location using its centralized console. Eset provides frequent updates, but it does not disturb any of our work, and this also has a powerful scanning system that secures the network from many kinds of viruses, malware, ransomware, rootkits, worms, and more. It supports many operating systems, and implementation is quite simple.

-ESET PROTECT Advanced Review, Gayan W.

Some of the program update features are kind of cumbersome. Weve found that we need to run the software update multiple times to make sure everything is updated on a regular basis. The thing that I would change here about this function is setting an update to be released. As soon as a workstation comes online, it reaches out to the management console to see if it holds the released software. I think this would be a huge update to the present setup.

-ESET PROTECT Advanced Review, Jason R.

Webroot Business Endpoint Protectionprovides real-time protection and threat intelligence to protect businesses from diverse threats across the web, email, ads, applications, files, and more. In an event where a system gets compromised, the software leverages its unique journaling and rollback remediation, helping local drives uninfect, minimizing or eliminating the need to reimage hard drives or systems.

Managing the endpoints is easy with the help of the centralized management console. Unlike other similar protection, it does not require installing server applications on the device. The portal is web-based and isnt machine-independent. It can be accessed from wherever you are. The best part, it does not leave any noticeable footprint on the device.

It doesnt slow down the system. The executable installation file is very small in size. It supports a wide variety of clients, including Windows servers and MacOS. The installation is super easy, and it just requires one click to fully install. Installation KEY code is integrated on the downloaded client installation file.

-Webroot Business Endpoint Protection Review, Pawan B.

The policy hierarchy is a bit convoluted. There are global site policies and also individual policies. Sometimes new features can only be applied to global policies, which are difficult if you only implemented local group policies.

-Webroot Business Endpoint Protection Review, Chris S.

McAfee MVISION Endpoint Security leverages machine learning to analyze the latest threat to a device, and facilitates local and cloud-based malware detection. The software helps users to return the device to its healthy state instead of reimaging or repairing it. MVISION prevents systems and networks from potential breaches caused by malicious attempts to harvest user credentials.

McAfee Endpoint Security provides full encryption to avoid the inappropriate use of data from stolen devices such as computers, laptops, or mobiles. This software detects and protects from destructing viruses in an easy and user-friendly manner. It scans viruses rapidly and is consistent in its action with well-ordered management. McAfee has an efficient password management tool that delivers extra protection as it blocks the interrupting links, sites, and ads.

-MVISION Endpoint Security Review, Charlotte T.

Sometimes it detects wrong or false malware and viruses. Thus, it should provide some useful features so that this problem can be resolved. It may slow down sometimes as its a large program and due to its heavy processes. If your systems and networks are under the scan process, itll slow down other processes of your systems. Thus, you may not be able to work while scanning.

-MVISION Endpoint Security Review, Larissa M.

Malware can penetrate into operating systems even after robust security measures.

Malware on a Mac may sound bizarre, but in reality, its existence cant be doubted. Malwarebytes State of Malware Report 2021 tells that Malware accounted for 1.5% of all Mac detections in 2020, and the rest of the detections comprised of potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) and adware. Even though Apple adopts strict security measures to protect its devices, there are certain ways malware can attack your beloved MacOS.

Similarly, Microsoft Windows Defender works at its best at malware protection; there can still be gaps in security measures that malware can take advantage of.

Many malware signs can tell if your macOS, Android, iOS, or Windows device is prone to malicious intent. When you speculate that the malware signals converge toward malware, here are five ways to help you remove it.

Debarring your device from accessing the internet will help you restrict the damage that the malware was continuously causing. Isolate your device and prevent data exchanges between your device and the malware server.

You must go offline, but dont give in to your urge to shut down your device. There are examples in cyberspace, especially in cases ofransomware, where malicious software is programmed to delete your encrypted files if you choose to turn the power off.

Wait until you confirm the presence of malware by using a malware scanner equipped with antivirus software. If you get a confirmation, call in an informed security professional who can help you deal with it.

Safe mode uses or allows only those applications that are critical to your devices basic functionalities. If an attacker has programmed malware to load automatically, entering safe mode will prevent it.

Once youre confident that youve avoided a situation where your data can be deleted permanently by malware, you can restart your device. You can enter safe mode in Mac by holding the Shift key when you restart your device and the Apple logo appears. Continue holding the shift key until you move to your login page and then release the key.

If you're a Windows 10 user, you can click the Windows button and go to power. Hold down theshift key and restart. Choose troubleshoot and go to advanced options where you'll find start-up settings. Under start-up settings, click restart, and you can find various options to boot in the safe mode.

Make sure you dont log in to your account or click on show password when the malware is still present. Its advisable to keep yourself out of sensitive accounts to prevent exposure of information.

When you have entered the safe mode, remove temporary files on your system. Deleting temporary files will help expedite antivirus scanning, and might even remove the malware if it was programmed to start while booting.

To remove the temporary files in Microsoft Windows you can use the disk cleanup tool. You can find it in Windows Administrative Tools listed in the start menu. Go to the disk clean up tool, scroll through files to delete list, and choose temporary files.

MacOS users can go to the main desktop, and press shift+command+G.In the finder window, enter the command ~/Library/Cachesand tap go. You'll find a new window with Mac's temporary files. Select all files using command+A and then press command+Delete.You'll have to enter your Mac's password here to complete deletion of temporary files.

Malware steals a substantial amount of processing power from your device. If you check your activity monitor, you can see the applications that have questionable CPU usage. When youre not using an application and its consuming a lot of processing power, it simply means that something isnt right. There can be malicious code behind it working to invade your information.

If you detect anything suspicious on your device, quit malicious applications at once to prevent it from any damage.

Once youve gathered evidence of malware on your device, its time to ascertain it. You can use antivirus software equipped with malware removal features to detect and remove different malware types attacking your device.

Antivirus programs can catch standard malicious entities across your device and protect you from emanating threats. If the type of malware youre dealing with has just embarked upon cyberspace, you may have to get an on-demand antivirus that has an updated threat database.

Malware can modify your browsers homepage to reinfect your device. Ensure your homepages authenticity so that if the threat persists, you can get rid of it.

You can check the homepages authenticity and clear the cache in Google Chrome and Safari through these steps:

1. Find the option to verify your homepage in the search engine tab, listed under Google Chrome settings. For Safari, you can make relevant changes in the preference section under general settings.

2. Find the clear browsing history section in the privacy and security settings of Google Chrome, and place a tick mark on cached images and files. For Safari, go to preferences, dive into privacy, manage website data, and choose the remove all option.

Malware removal follows the same basic idea for Windows and Mac, but differs in the removal process. For example, you need a different set of functions to enter Macs safe mode than Windows.

Now that youve walked through the process of removing malware, start protecting your assets from malware threats with leading antivirus software on the market.

Wondering what youll do if malware penetrates your assets, compromising your security? Learn more aboutincident responseto understand the exact steps you should follow to handle a security incident.

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5 Malware Removal Tools That Keep You Safe - G2

Mango Animate’s Free Character Animation Maker Benefits Everyone – WhaTech

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Mango Animates free character animation maker is a useful and powerful tool for everyone to create amazing animations.

Celebrated animation firm Mango Animate has released its latest free character animation software called Mango Animate Character Maker. Priced at a very nominal $139, this software aims to create a new life in graphic design. Having made the free character animation software available at a heavy discount, Mango Animate aims to capture the animation market at an even faster rate than its current speed.

Graphic designers have a great chance of designing their imaginative characters in seconds with the help of this free character animation softwareMango Animate Character Maker. Designs of classrooms, medical facilities, religious and secular festivals, trendy lifestyles, etc. can easily be designed with this software without even blinking an eye.

This free character animation software is also a great help for teachers and lecturers to create videos so captivating for their students that they never forget this visual treat. Working magically on their visual senses, Mango Animate Character Maker is here to not just help learn for the moment but also for life. This software can also be used by individuals running educational videos on video streaming platforms to better inform and educate their subscribers and gain much more followers.Turning static PNG images or PSD layers into smart animated characters is a piece of cake with this software. Not to mention the smart and intuitive IK (Inverse Kinematic) feature that is there to edit their characters' poses and movements. With minimum effort, Mango Animate Character Maker gives you precise results at the minimum time.

We are more than glad about the work our team has put in to help bring the dream of this software program to realization. Our target has always been to get this software to anyone and everyone with a passion for animations. Money shouldn't be an object to greatness. I hope free character animation software will eventually help other people who'll end up changing the world for the better. That is how we bring real change,says Ivan Leung, the CTO of Mango Animate.

For more information about Mango Animate Character Maker, please visit Mango Animate.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Coronavirus: How PCs in quarantine and intensive care units can be managed remotely – ComputerWeekly.com

The University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) has used chip management technology built into Intel processors to enable it to manage PC devices.

While the pandemic presented immense challenges for the NHS, among the areas of work that may not make the headlines is the fact that clinicians require access to PC equipment as part of their job. If these devices stop working, it can affect patient care.

Describing the challenges, Chris Brett, PC support technician at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW), says: Typically, my team have been on the front line, in the office every single day. When there is an issue, my team has to fix it.

The PC support team manages user devices comprising 8,000 desktops, 3,000 laptops, a couple of thousand iPads, display screens, printers and medical label printers.

Even before Covid-19, especially in areas such as intensive care units or restricted labs, PPE was required and IT support staff were only granted access when no patients or medical staff were present.

While UHBW uses remote desktop support and Wake on LAN tools to manage devices remotely, Brett says: Before Covid-19, the issue we came across was that if a PC in theatre isnt working, in first line support wed need to scrub up to fix the issue in theatre. This represents at least half an hour of downtime, which may prevent theatre staff from accessing medical records, potentially delaying surgery.

The need to reduce the risk of infection has become an even bigger priority since the pandemic struck, but so has the need for tech to keep performing. While PC support teams are well-versed in remote desktop management, Brett says that most PC support tools need Windows to run, adding: If Windows isnt loading, we had to wheel in a new PC.

Intel has been working with UHBW to tackle the challenges around IT management by deploying Intels vPro platform across multiple sites to enable remote support. This technology enables IT teams to manage devices remotely, giving them hardware-level access to everything from desktops and laptops to digital signs and display screens.

Intel Active Management Technology, which is part of the vPro platform, is a free tool from Intel to enable device management across wired and wireless networks. It works even when the device is not running or if the operating system is corrupted.

Since the Intel vPro platform runs software at the PC Bios level, it does not require an operating system to run. As a result, if Microsoft Windows fails to start, Brett says his team can reimage the PC remotely.

For UHBW, this means that the Intel technology can be used to provide secure remote access to PC equipment in ICU and other critical departments.

In the past, the PC support could only gain access to PCs in the operating theatre outside of office hours and at weekends, which could mean that a device would be unavailable for days. However, with vPro, the team can manage PCs entirely remotely, so there is no need to be physically in the same room as the device

As an example, Brett says the vPro technology helped his team to problem-solve a PC failing to start in the operating theatre: A few weeks back, a call came in that a PC in theatre was stuck at the logging in screen.

He adds that the team was able to unlock the PC over the network and, since it was equipped with Wi-Fi, IT support was able to use the Intel management console to determine that the network cable had been unplugged.

This led to a conversation with theatre staff along the lines of: Is the red cable plugged into a port on the wall? Is there a second port?. This, says Brett, enabled the team to talk theatre staff through the process of plugging in the ethernet cable to fix the network login issue.

When the pandemic struck, Brett says the team made kitting out vPro-equipped PCs in ICU a priority. The vPro technology enabled the PC support teams to have PCs wheeled into quarantine areas. We can remote into that PC, and just bang on a new image in half an hour and have it up and running, he adds.

Brett says UHBW now has 250 vPro equipped PCs and 200 non-vPro computers, which can be managed using Intels free endpoint management tool. He says that each device just needs a 3 MB software client that can be downloaded from the Intel website.

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Coronavirus: How PCs in quarantine and intensive care units can be managed remotely - ComputerWeekly.com

The best free DAWs 2021: the best free music production software for PC and Mac – MusicRadar

The very notion of a free DAW might make you suspicious. How is it possible to get something that can cost hundreds of dollars for nothing? Allow us to allay your fears, though, because the best free DAWs are well up to the job of helping you to produce music on a computer, particularly if youre a beginner or have fairly basic digital recording requirements.

Why are they free, though? One of the main reasons for a company to release a free DAW is to attract you into their ecosystem in the hope that youll upgrade to one of their paid-for products later on. Theres no obligation to do this, though; if youre happy with the free version and want to stick with it, no problem.

On the downside, most free DAWs are less feature-packed than their paid-for counterparts. You might be limited in the number of tracks and plugins that you can use, for example, and power user options are likely to be missing, too.

If youre just starting out, though, this is unlikely to be a problem, and you may find that a free DAW is all you ever need.

Weve rounded up what we consider to be the best free DAWs that you can download right now. All of these are fully functional and wont time out - you wont find any demo versions here. We havent included any of the DAWs that often come bundled with MIDI keyboards and audio interfaces, either, though these can certainly make for a good option.

Mac

The most famous free DAW of them all comes bundled with every Mac, and makes it ridiculously easy for pretty much anyone to start making music.

Not only can you record audio - your guitar or mic, for example - but you also get a strong selection of software instruments that can be played from a MIDI keyboard. There are plenty of rhythmic and instrumental loops, too - just drag them into the Timeline and start creating - and Apples excellent Drummer enables you to create customised drum tracks to fit your projects.

The effects library includes virtual guitar amps and stompboxes, and there are enough editing and mixing features for you to polish a track to completion. Projects are compatible with the equally excellent iOS version, and Logic Pro provides a ready-made upgrade path on the Mac.

Throw in AU plugin support and you realise that, If you need a free DAW on the Mac, theres little reason to look anywhere else.

Download Apple GarageBand

PC/Mac/Linux/Raspberry Pi

Already one of the best free DAWs around - and certainly one of the most fully-featured and least restrictive - Tracktion Software Corporations 2021 update makes Waveform Free even better.

Offering an unlimited track count and plugin support, Waveform Free 2021 has a new welcome screen that makes it easy to set up your audio devices and offers a range of project templates.

There are new editing features, too - the likes of Range Selection, Ripple Delete and Heal/ Consolidate/Silence - along with a Step Clip Editor thats designed to ease the process of clip programming.

Further workflow enhancements come in the form of the Actions Panel, which enables you to favourite your most used actions and create custom actions that can be recalled with a click, and a MIDI typing feature that turns your computer keyboard into a musical one.

All in all, Waveform Free is so capable that youll wonder why you didnt have to pay for it. You can upgrade to the Pro version whenever youre ready.

Download Tracktion Software Waveform Free

PC/Mac

Studio One 5 is the latest and greatest version of PreSonuss DAW, and the free Prime version is based on the same technology.

While there are some significant limitations in comparison to the more capable, paid-for, Artist and Professional versions - you cant use third-party VST/AU plugins, for example - Prime offers the same elegant MIDI/audio recording experience, and still has plenty to offer.

A single-window interface keeps things simple, while the drag-n-drop workflow speeds up the production process no end. There are unlimited tracks and buses, and plenty of built-in virtual instruments and effects to get you started.

Guitarists will appreciate the Ampire amp and cab sims, while those of a more electronic bent can take advantage of the Pattern Editor, which offers a drum machine-style programming interface. Theres even support for MPE controllers, demonstrating that, while Studio One Prime might be entry-level, its certainly not low-tech.

Download PreSonus Studio One Prime

PC/Mac

Pro Tools is an industry-standard DAW thats found in professional recording studios around the world, so it seems almost inconceivable that you should be able to download a version of it for free.

Thats precisely what you get with Pro Tools | First, though - looking and feeling like Pro Tools 'Proper', it lets you use 16 audio tracks and 16 MIDI tracks, and to record up to four tracks simultaneously.

You cant use third-party plugins, but you do get the Xpand! 2 virtual instrument - a decent virtual workstation that provides a wide range of sounds - and a 500MB library of samples and loops.

There are project templates, too - pick the type of music you want to make and youll get a set of pre-loaded instrument tracks for that genre.

Other features include a good range of editing tools, track freezing to save CPU and 1GB of free cloud storage. Plenty to get your teeth into, then.

Download Avid Pro Tools | First

PC/Mac

Akais MPC products have been inspiring electronic music and hip-hop producers since 1988, which saw the release of the iconic MPC60.

MPC Beats - a free beatmaking DAW means that everyone can now experience the legendary MPC workflow. The software features a classic 4x4 drum sample grid (thats 16 pads), a piano roll, a sample library browser and a sample edit window. You can switch between these different views whenever you like.

If youre new to the production game, beat templates will help you to get started and understand the process, and MPC Beats ships with a 2GB library that includes content from some of the most popular MPC Expansion Pack sound libraries (you can add more if youre willing to pay for them).

As well as the obligatory drum kits, there are also three plugin instruments (Bassline, Tubesynth and Electric) and 80 FX plugins that are lifted from the Air Effects collection. So, you have everything you need to create, mix and master your tracks.

Control can come not only from one of Akais own MIDI Keyboards or pad controllers, but also any other suitable MIDI controller you might have to hand. MPC Beats will auto-map to many of them, easing the setup process

Other features of the software include two stereo audio tracks, eight MIDI/instrument tracks and support for VST/AU instruments and effects. You can also use MPC Beats as a plugin in another DAW.

Download Akai MPC Beats

PC/Mac

Launched in 2019, Serato Studio is a simplified PC and Mac DAW thats designed for beginners and DJs who want to move into music production.

The feature-limited free edition has full save and export functionality and no time constraints, but is limited to four Decks, four Scenes, one Audio Track and MP3-only export. Automation is disabled, too.

That said, its still perfectly possible to create a full track using the free version, and it offers features such as sampling and virtual instruments. DJs can also load full mixed tracks into it and use the software to create their own edits.

Download Serato Studio

PC

The DAW formerly known as Sonar had a rough ride for a few years, and looking to be heading for the scrapheap before it was saved - and made free - by BandLab.

The Cakewalk reference is a nod to the softwares original developer, and its long history is evident in the level of sophistication that this free Windows-only DAW offers. You can make use of unlimited audio, MIDI, instrument, loop and aux tracks, and the Skylight UI is fully customisable. So you can tweak the interface to suit your workflow.

Theres VST3 plugin support here, so expanding your roster of instruments and effects wont be a problem, though plenty of content comes included anyway. Touchscreen support is another bonus, as is a 64-bit mix engine.

Theres no upgrade path from Cakewalk by BandLab, but with this much functionality, you may never need one.

Download Cakewalk by BandLab

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The best free DAWs 2021: the best free music production software for PC and Mac - MusicRadar