Best free software

It’s always exciting to discover a free PC program that offers advanced features you usually have to pay for. It’s also interesting to try new open-source tools from independent developers on GitHub (

I used to save everything to my Windows desktop – files, documents, software, the lot. I thought it was the only way to know where they were, but it made my desktop a complete mess. What I do now Now

NirSoft, one of our favourite independent developers, has launched two tools measuring how long it takes your computer to boot and shut down. BootPerformanceView (www.snipca. com/55145) shows the boot

www.snipca.com/55086 What you need: Windows 7, 8.1. 10 or 11 We’ve recommended several free image editors recently, including GIMP (in Issue 707) and Photo Variants (in Issue 709). PhotoDemon is easie

www.snipca.com/55260 What you need: Windows 10 or 11 From the company behind the free software Wise Disk Cleaner and Wise Program Uninstaller (see page 51 of our Cover Feature), WiseX is a new AI assi

1 Use this button to toggle between regular thumbnails of your photos, as seen here, and square-shaped images that leave little border. 2 This slider increases and decreases the size of your preview i