How to Choose the Right Software for Your Devices
Before you get lost in a crowded field of software, know what you want. Want to increase productivity with word processing or spreadsheets? Or perhaps you require a graphic design or video-editing suite of software? When you know what you want to achieve, you can narrow down your options and avoid making purchases you don't need to. For security software, the amount of protection you need can vary based on the level of protection that you need; you might not need extensive antivirus protection, for example, so you don't need an internet security suite. Check Device Compatibility
Certainly not all software functions on all devices or operating systems. Be sure that the software you decide to use can support your hardware and OS version. For instance, some programs are made solely for Windows, while others work better on MacOS or mobile devices like Android or iOS. Running the wrong software can lead to sluggish performance, crashes, or even security holes. Prioritize Security Features
Nowadays, with growing cybersecurity on the rise, the security of any software cannot be overlooked. Antivirus is especially important for security programs. Find software that includes real-time scanning, malware detection, firewall integration, and automatic updates. These capabilities help keep you protected, even on older devices. Help protect from viruses, malware, and ransomware helps shield you from many online threats. Also see what its users are saying in online reviews or tests by independent computer labs to assess whether the antivirus software is right for you. Evaluate User-Friendliness
Software should simplify your jobs and not complicate them. Look at the user interface and see how easy it is. A program that is difficult to learn or with a messy interface can also slow you down. Most software makers provide free trials or demos—test out the product and make sure you like it before taking that leap. Consider Software Updates and Support
Good software companies regularly update their software, whether to correct bugs, provide new features, or enhance security. This is especially significant in antivirus as new threats arise every day. Go for a product that offers good customer service, search for a toll-free number, live chat, or strong help resources. That way, if you have problems or questions, you can get a quick response. Check for Reviews and Recommendations
The pitch is not enough. Search for professional reviews, user opinions, and independent test results for an objective assessment of the software. Tech review websites disregard antivirus protection in thorough testing. Plus, consult friends or colleagues you trust who may have already used the software you're thinking of buying. Assess the Cost vs. Value
Although some software is free, pay for high-quality programs. Keep in mind it is not simply a question of cost vs. value. While you can't beat them for price, loading one of those lighter-weight options when malware shenanigans are a brewin' isn't recommended, especially when, for a bit more, you can get an antivirus program with loads more features and robust, enterprise-grade internet security. Be wary of those that are too cheap or free, as they may lack important security updates or features. Check for Additional Features
SuperSoftware. Many software applications include added benefits that may improve your experience. For anti-virus software, these might include things like parental controls, access to VPNs, identity theft protection, or password managers. Think about whether these extras benefit you, and whether they justify the price. Test Performance Impact
Some software that comes with a new PC, for example, and especially antivirus software, can bog down your device. Try to find solutions that are seen to have a low system impact, so that the PC will remain fast and responsive even when scans are running in the background.
TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Android Authority
7 hours ago
- Android Authority
6 features from other skins I want on One UI
C. Scott Brown / Android Authority One UI has been with us for six years now, and it's easily the best Android skin Samsung has made. One UI is smoother, more reliable, and easier to use than Samsung Experience or TouchWiz, the skins that preceded it. Aside from a blip with One UI 7, it's been updated quicker than ever, often beating other Android skins. The features One UI delivers have made it my favorite flavor of Android since I first used it on my Galaxy S10 Plus, but there are still things I'd like to change. Motorola, OnePlus, and others have added exciting features to their Android skins, and I'd love to see some of them adopted by Samsung in the next version of One UI. Which of these featurs would you like to see most on Samsung phones? 1 votes Moto: Gestures 100 % Moto: Easier customisation 0 % Pixel: Now Playing 0 % Pixel: Call Screening 0 % OnePlus: Screenshot pixelation 0 % OnePlus: Open Canvas 0 % Motorola: Intuitive gestures It's hard to believe it's been twelve years since the original Moto X hit shelves. That phone, along with the Moto G, shaped Motorola's future over the following decade, and one of the best things it introduced is what the company now calls Kinetic Gestures. The ones I want most are the two that started it all — Fast Torch and Quick Capture. On a Motorola phone, performing a double karate chop toggles the torch on or off, something that's incredibly useful when you're fumbling with keys in the dark and need to add some light to the situation. I use this a lot on my 2023 Razr Plus, where this gesture is much faster than unlocking the phone and swiping through quick settings. Quick Capture opens the camera or switches between the front and rear lenses if the camera is already open. This gesture requires a double flick of the wrist, and once you get used to it, it's the easiest way of quickly launching the camera so you don't miss an important shot. Motorola: Easy customisation One UI has plenty of theming options, more than Motorola does, but it's all split across too many different menus and apps. Theming icons is in Theme Park, fonts are in the settings menu, and the Material You colors are in a menu accessed from the home screen. It's even worse on Samsung's Z Flip series, where all of the options for the cover screen are spread across even more menus. It adds too much friction to customising your Samsung phone. Motorola has gone about things in a simple, thoughtful way. All of the options for themes, icons, fonts, home screen grid sizes, and the cover screen are in a single place. Long-press the home screen, open the personalise menu, and there are all of the options you could ever need. Sure, I miss some of the more advanced tweaks from One UI, but Motorola's approach of listing everything together is more approachable for users. Pixel: Now Playing Ryan Haines / Android Authority Now Playing is one of those small features that you don't think about until you use a phone that doesn't have it. I used a Pixel 9 Pro as my daily phone recently, the longest I'd used a Pixel since I owned a 3XL, and it reminded me how many subtle quality of life features you get on Pixels. Knowing what song is playing in the background wherever I am, without having to ask my phone to do it, is more convenient than the alternative. The Now Playing history is great, too. I've planned to listen to a song that I've heard and searched for when out and about, only to forget what the song was by the time I get home. Now Playing keeps a history of the songs it hears, so I don't have to rely on my memory. Pixel: Call Screening Andy Walker / Android Authority Pixel 8a Call Screening debuted on the Pixel 3 in 2018, but I never got to experience it as it didn't come to the UK until 2021. When I used it with the Pixel 9 Pro recently, I couldn't believe how much better it is than Samsung's alternative. Samsung's Call Assist can do the basics of screening calls, transcribing the conversation, and live translation. But it's the extras that Google has added to Call Screening over the years that Samsung can't keep up with. Call Screening on Pixels can wait on hold for you and notify you when the person you're calling comes back, tell you how long the average wait time is for a call to a business, and even map and label phone tree options. Samsung is off to a good start with Call Assist, but there's a lot more work to be done. OnePlus: Screenshot pixelation Zac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority I take a lot of screenshots in this line of work, and I often need to censor things like my email, address, and other personal information. One UI does have a blur and pixelation tool in the gallery, but it's a manual process that can be quite messy if you don't have an S Pen to make things easier. OnePlus and Oppo devices have an AI-powered auto mode that applies a neat blur to what it identifies as sensitive information. It isn't perfect. In the example above, I had to censor two elements that it missed manually, but that was much less painful than having to do the whole thing myself, and features like this will only improve with updates. OnePlus: Open Canvas OnePlus debuted Open Canvas on the OnePlus Open, and since then, it's come to many of the company's devices. It's a new approach to window management on mobile that is more intuitive and makes the most use out of the space available on a screen. Before OnePlus introduced this, One UI had my favorite multitasking system, but Open Canvas blows it out of the water. Google has taken some inspiration from Open Canvas, adding a 90:10 split to multi-window that you can try in One UI 8 on the Fold 7, Flip 7, Flip FE, and the S25 series running the beta. It's an improvement, but still doesn't come close to what OnePlus is doing, and I'd love to try Open Canvas on a big screen, like my Galaxy Tab S10 Plus. One UI 9 needs to impress Zac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority One UI 8 feels like a stop-gap update. One UI 7 made a lot of big changes to Samsung software, most of which were welcome, but the delayed and fragmented update rollout left a bitter taste. One UI 8 is shaping up to have a much smoother release, but there's almost nothing new here to be excited about. It feels like One UI 8 received only minimal changes so that Samsung could push it out the door quickly and act as damage control for last year. One UI 9, whenever we see it, needs to give us something to be excited about, and looking to other OEM skins for inspiration, drawing on what Motorola, Google, and OnePlus users love about their phones, would be a good place to start.
Tom's Guide
8 hours ago
- Tom's Guide
7 hidden Roku tricks every user should know
Your Roku does way more than just stream Netflix and Hulu. Beneath its familiar interface lies clever features and shortcuts that can improve your streaming experience in surprising ways. Most people never discover these lesser-known tricks, missing out on convenient tools that save time and frustration every day. Some features help you navigate more efficiently, while others solve common problems you didn't even realize had solutions. There are also hidden settings that protect your privacy and secret screens that aren't mentioned anywhere in the official documentation. Whether you're a longtime Roku user or just got started, these hidden features will improve your experience with one of the best streaming devices. Instead of managing separate watchlists across Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, and every other streaming service, Roku lets you create one master list that works across all services. Use the Roku OS to search for shows and movies you want to watch, then select Add to Save List on each title's details page. This saves everything to a universal watchlist that you can access by going to the Roku home screen and selecting What to Watch. Your universal list shows everything in one place, making it much easier to decide what to watch next. The physical Roku remote is functional, but your phone can do so much more. Download the Roku Official Remote Control app for iOS or Android and you'll get a full keyboard for easy searching, the ability to stream content directly from your phone, as well as voice search. The app also lets you browse and launch channels without looking at your TV screen. You can type search terms quickly and if you lose the physical remote, your phone becomes an instant backup. The app even shows what's currently playing and gives you playback controls. If your remote has vanished into the couch cushions again, you don't need to tear apart your living room. If you have a remote with a speaker grille, open the Roku app, tap the microphone, and say "Hey, Roku, find my remote." The remote will start beeping so you can track it down. For Roku Ultra devices, just long-press the button on the right side of the device and the remote will beep. If you have a Voice Remote Pro, you can say "Hey, Roku, find my remote" directly to the TV and it will start beeping. Once you find it, press any button to stop the noise. You can even customize the beeping sound in Settings if the default tone isn't loud enough. When friends or family visit, they can use your Roku without messing up your recommendations, watchlists, or personal settings. Go to to set up a PIN, then press the Home button on your Roku remote and navigate to Settings, System, Guest Mode, and Enter Guest Mode. Then enter your PIN and select OK to activate it. Now guests can sign into their own streaming accounts and use the device normally, but their viewing history won't affect your algorithms and they can't see your personal content. Late-night binge-watching doesn't have to wake up your household. If you have a first-generation Voice Remote Pro, you can plug headphones directly into the remote's headphone jack and audio will automatically redirect from the TV to your headphones. For newer remotes without headphone jacks, use the Roku mobile app's Headphone Mode to listen through your phone's headphones or earbuds. The TV audio gets muted while you get full sound through your personal audio device. This works great for apartments, shared living spaces, or when your partner goes to bed early but you want to keep watching. Roku has hidden diagnostic screens can help you troubleshoot problems. These secret screens let you run network speed tests, view detailed system information, check channel installation logs, and perform various resets when your device isn't working properly. You can access these by pressing specific button combinations on your remote or entering special codes. To run a network speed test, press Home 5 times, then Up, Down, Up, Down, Up and you'll get access to speed testing, reset, and logging options. For a soft reset when your Roku is acting up, press Home 5 times, Up once, Rewind twice, and Fast Forward twice and your device will restart without erasing settings. The speed test screen is particularly useful for diagnosing streaming quality issues, showing you exactly how fast your internet connection is performing on the Roku device itself. Tired of being blasted awake by loud commercials or having to constantly adjust volume between quiet dialogue and loud action scenes? To avoid this, press the star button on your remote during playback, then navigate to Sound Settings and Volume Mode. Turn on Leveling to prevent sudden volume spikes from commercials and channel changes. You can also enable Night mode to boost quiet sounds and reduce loud ones, which is perfect for late-night viewing when you don't want to disturb others. For Roku Streambars and Soundbars, you'll find these options under Settings, Audio and Volume Modes instead. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.
Gizmodo
8 hours ago
- Gizmodo
Apple Is Mad at Amazon, 2025 MacBook Air (16GB RAM, 256GB SSD) Now Selling for Literally Peanuts
Amazon is going all in for Back to School season, and it just dropped the price of one of 2025's top laptops to an all-time low. The 13-inch MacBook Air with the M4 chip, 16GB RAM, and 256GB storage can now be had for $799. That's $50 less than the previous best price of $849, and significantly lower than its original price of $999. Looks like Amazon is determined to clear out inventory of our favorite Apple laptop. See at Amazon This MacBook Air packs a punch with Apple's latest M4 chip, offering solid performance that simply gets the work done from day-to-day operations right on through to more taxing applications. The 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display brings you crisp, beautiful images that make movies and photos, appear stunning. With 16GB of unified memory (RAM), you can multitask without slowdown. Its 256GB SSD stores your files quickly and gives you quick access, so you won't be waiting long to get started. Battery life is another advantage of the 2025 MacBook Air: Apple estimates up to 18 hours of use on a single charge thanks to the efficiency of the M4 chip and thoughtful macOS optimisation. That means you can work or study all day without constantly searching for a power outlet. For productivity, the MacBook Air already comes with Apple's own office applications like Pages for word processing, Numbers for spreadsheets (equivalent to Excel), and Keynote for presentations. They come preinstalled to use straight away, no extra buy required, so you can get started on work immediately. And good compatibility with Microsoft Office programs like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint is available if you do need to use them. You'll also love how easy it is to integrate with other Apple products: If you have an iPhone, iPad or an Apple Watch, the integration is effortless. You can sign in, unlock your Mac, or approve payments with a single tap on your Apple Watch or an easy scan from your iPhone. Features like Handoff, AirDrop, and Universal Clipboard make transferring files or continuing work across devices easy. When it comes to features, there is also a 12MP Center Stage camera that stays glued on you while making video calls, which is a big plus point for meetings remotely or catching up with family and friends. Security is handled with Touch ID for quick, secure logins and purchases. And the design? The Midnight finish is sleek and contemporary (our favorite color) while the lightweight build ensures that it's easy to carry around. Don't miss your chance to snap up what's arguably the best laptop available at an unbeatable price. See at Amazon
