Download of the Week

Open-source FreeCAD excels at creating precise, parametric models of real-world objects, making it ideal for mechanical engineering, product design, and architecture. It supports various file formats, assemblies, and simulations.

FDM is a fast, reliable tool for organizing and accelerating downloads. It supports BitTorrent, magnet links, and browser integration, with features like pause/resume, scheduling, and bandwidth control. The latest update adds a sleek UI, better performance, and improved add-on support, all for free.

Balabolka converts written text into spoken audio using installed speech synthesis engines, such as Microsoft SAPI. It supports a wide range of file formats-including Docs, ePub, and PDFs, allowing allows users to save the output as audio files. This makes it useful for accessibility, language learning, and content narration.

Paint.NET is a free image editing program for Windows that's known for striking a balance between simplicity and power. It's grown into a robust tool with support for layers, unlimited undo, blending modes, and a wide range of drawing and photo editing tools. Its functionality can be extended further through community-developed plugins. See more recommendations in our Essential Apps feature.

Riot has now released released Valorant 11.02 introducing a major engine upgrade, moving from Unreal Engine 4.27 to Unreal Engine 5.3. While visible gameplay changes are minimal, players may notice small FPS improvements and smoother rendering. Additionally, this patch includes bug fixes focused on UI and agent clarity.

KMPlayer is a feature-rich, cross-platform multimedia player available for Windows, Android, and iOS. It natively supports a wide range of audio, video, image, and subtitle formats-including AVI, MKV, FLV, 4K/8K, and 60 fps content. See more recommendations in our Essential Apps feature.

Tor Browser, based on Firefox ESR, uses a global network of relays to anonymize your browsing and protect your IP address. It includes a variety of privacy tools and differs from a VPN by routing traffic through multiple encrypted relays rather than masking it with a single server.

Raspberry Pi Imager is the quick and easy way to install Raspberry Pi OS and other operating systems to a microSD card, ready to use with your Raspberry Pi. The software allows you to select from a variety of official and third-party OS images. It also enables basic configuration options such as Wi-Fi setup and SSH activation before flashing the card.

VirtualBox is open-source virtualization software that enables you to run multiple OS on a single machine. Whether you need to test software, use legacy systems, or create isolated environments, VirtualBox supports Windows, Linux, macOS, and other platforms as both host and guest systems.

Think that bargain USB drive is 1TB? Think again. ValiDrive uncovers the real storage capacity of USB drives that promise terabytes but deliver far less. It also reports read and write speeds for a quick performance check.

FanControl lets you create custom fan curves and temperature sensors on Windows. It supports dynamic speed control for case, GPU, and some PSU fans, and includes a plugin system for third-party sensors. Check out more in our Essential Apps feature.

DogWalk is a free, heartwarming winter adventure by Blender Studio where you play as Chocomel the dog, helping a child build a snowman in a papercraft-inspired forest. Made as a showcase of open-source tools Blender and Godot, the game is cross-platform and already a hit on Steam with very favorable reviews.

Blender 4.5 introduces GPU-accelerated shader compilation, faster simulations, and full Vulkan support. Key updates include expanded Geometry Nodes tools, enhanced GPU compositor performance, improved UV editing, and broader import/export compatibility.

Kiro is an AI-powered IDE built on VS Code that streamlines development with a "spec-driven" workflow. Kiro transforms prompts into structured specs, diagrams, and tasks to streamline complex coding. Kiro is now in public preview and is free to use.

DLSS Swapper now manages DLL versions more efficiently by automatically removing outdated backups after game updates and improving the version history display. FSR DLLs now show clearer internal version names and are sorted correctly. Additional updates include new DLSS presets and a reload game button.

The latest Android Studio update adds Gemini AI and introduces Studio Labs for testing experimental AI tools. It also debuts Android Studio Cloud, allowing developers to launch browser-based workspaces and code from anywhere.

The latest AIDA64 update enhances accessibility with improved text scaling and SensorPanel upgrades, including new gauges and display options. It also adds early support for AMD Zen 6 and Intel Wildcat Lake CPUs, PCIe 7.0, and updated details for new AMD, Intel, and Nvidia GPUs.

Thunderbird's latest update introduces dark mode for messages, a revamped Appearance panel for customizing layout and sorting, and native OS notifications with quick actions. Other improvements include QR code-based export to the Android app and horizontal scrolling for better handling of wide messages.

7-Zip version 25.00 introduces support for over 64 CPU threads on Windows, enabling the software to fully leverage high-core processors like AMD Threadripper and Intel Xeon. This release also improves bzip2 and deflate compression performance, making it a notable update for users on multi-core systems.

Vivaldi is a dream browser for those who want total control. Version 7.5 debuts with several privacy enhancements, it introduces color-coded Tab Stacks for grouped tabs and adds support for DNS over HTTPS (DoH), providing extra security to protect your browsing activity. Check out more in our essential apps feature.

Remote desktop access remains a critical utility, especially for support, collaboration, or accessing files on the go. RustDesk has emerged as a modern, privacy-conscious alternative to options like TeamViewer. It's open-source, fast, and works seamlessly across platforms without the usual bloat. Check out more in our essential apps feature.

The new performance monitor (detailed here) adds detailed metrics that allows gamers to distinguish between generated frames from DLSS or FSR and the actual game frame rate. CPU, GPU, and memory usage are available as well.

Nvidia is offering a free Adobe Creative Cloud subscription through the Nvidia App rewards section. Owners of GeForce RTX 30 or 40 series GPUs get one free month, while RTX 50 series users get up to two months. The offer is available via the Nvidia App under the Rewards section.

Stop juggling weak or repeated passwords. Our favorite password manager Bitwarden makes life simpler and safer to store your logins and auto-fill them across sites. Bitwarden is open-source and offers a generous free account. Check out more in our essential apps feature.

Microsoft Edge 138 introduces a new AI-powered history search that helps users find previously visited sites using synonyms, phrases, or even misspelled words. The update also adds performance notifications. When a slowdown is detected, the browser can alert and suggest optimization tools.