OpenTTD is an open source remake of the classic business simulation game Transport Tycoon Deluxe, with a host of improvements and extensions.

The program launches with an RTS-like map, dotted with cities (click Options and choose a higher resolution if the 640x480 default doesn't work for you). Your task is to earn money by transporting passengers and cargo across your very own transport network, over land, rail, sea and air.

There's plenty to learn, but the game has a lot of documentation and tutorials to point you in the right direction. OpenTTD's many improvements mean it's much easier to use than the original (drag and drop support, pathfinding for vehicles etc), and although games can have up to 256 players, that's not compulsory. You can learn by playing on your own for a while, or against a computer opponent.

Please note, OpenTTD is designed to use the original Transport Tycoon Deluxe data files. If you don't have the game, download the installer - not the portable version - and during setup it will offer to download free versions of the files.

This is the portable version of OpenTTD.

OpenTTD is an open source remake of the classic business simulation game Transport Tycoon Deluxe, with a host of improvements and extensions.

The program launches with an RTS-like map, dotted with cities (click Options and choose a higher resolution if the 640x480 default doesn't work for you). Your task is to earn money by transporting passengers and cargo across your very own transport network, over land, rail, sea and air.

There's plenty to learn, but the game has a lot of documentation and tutorials to point you in the right direction. OpenTTD's many improvements mean it's much easier to use than the original (drag and drop support, pathfinding for vehicles etc), and although games can have up to 256 players, that's not compulsory. You can learn by playing on your own for a while, or against a computer opponent.

Please note, OpenTTD is designed to use the original Transport Tycoon Deluxe data files. If you don't have the game, download the installer - not the portable version - and during setup it will offer to download free versions of the files.

This is the portable version of OpenTTD.

Defragmenting your hard drive can make a real and significant difference to your PCs performance. So it's a pity that Windows' own defrag tool is slow, short on features and has a poor interface, especially in Vista. Fortunately there are plenty of free alternatives around, and IObit Smart Defrag is one of the best.

The program has a variety of defrag strategies, for instance. You're able to defragment files alone, defrag and compact free hard drive space, or use a "deep optimise" mode to reorganise your hard drive files for the best possible speeds. All work quickly and efficiently.

You're able to launch any of these defrag options on demand, on a schedule, or even in the background after your PC has been idle for a few minutes. We wondered if this meant the program would compromise the performance of other applications, but this really isn't the case. Smart Defrag needs less than 15MB of RAM, doesn't fire up until your system has been idle for 5 minutes, and stops as soon as other applications become active again, so it never got in our way. All you'll notice is an all-round speed boost as Smart Defrag fixes any defrag issues automatically, before they become too serious.

Note that Smart Defrag is using a new "Boot Time Defrag" technology which allows you to defrag files during the system boot process, while these files cannot be defragged or are not safe to move after the system is already boot-up.

Note that this is the portable version of IObit Smart Defrag.

Microsoft never appears to be completely happy with their web browser. Despite having far more powerful alternatives, users paranoid about the dangers lurking around the internet would insist on using Internet Explorer.

When Edge was first launched, in a rather basic form, with limited extension support, we used to receive complaints from people who'd bought a security suite and wanted a refund as their new security wouldn't support Edge (overlooking this was an issue with Edge, not their security). This is the trust placed by end users in Microsoft and their development.

With the above in mind, and the need to be able to produce a solid, competitive and secure web browser, Microsoft has decided to stop trying to build their own from scratch and move to a Chromium framework, which is the engine that powers Google Chrome and other browsers.

Edge 'Developer' is the developer-focused version of this new browser aimed at insiders who want to get their first look at what's coming soon. And it really is a first look. Download Edge and, although it looks similar to the current Windows 10 Edge, with a Chrome-powered framework, there's still work to be done.

Unlike Chrome, Microsoft has deployed their own account system which will eventually synchronise your data including favourites, extensions, themes and browsing history. Right now, only your favourites are synchronised.

What's instantly noticeable is a lack of support for existing Chrome themes and extensions. No dark mode support either, so you'll be using a bright white user-interface, which is a shock to the system after using a recent Chrome.

Edge 'Developer' can be unstable and slow. It will sit alongside your existing Edge and the current 'Developer' version is Windows 10 only. The final release will work with Mac and Windows 7, 8.

SmartFTP is a fast and easy-to-use FTP client that will make quick work of all your file transfer tasks.

The program supports regular FTP connections, as well as FTP over SSL, SFTP over SSH, or TLS (FTPS) for extra security. And then SmartFTP follows a familiar two-pane approach, allowing you to browse your local system on the left-hand side, your server on the right, and transfer files between the two just by dragging and dropping.

Sometimes you may have a lot of files to upload, of course. SmartFTP helps out by compressing files on the fly to save time, but if that's not sufficient then you're also able to schedule transfers to run at a more convenient time. Or you can simply close SmartFTP for the moment, and it'll carry on from where you left off when you next launch the program.

If you have complex transfer needs then you can alternatively set up SmartFTP to keep specified local and remote folders synchronised. So there's no need to worry about locating particular files: SmartFTP itself will figure out what's changed, and upload everything that's necessary as quickly as possible. The program can even handle uploads to several servers in one click.

And there's support for editing files directly on the server, with whatever application is appropriate, which means that again you don't have to worry about manually downloading documents - SmartFTP handles everything in the background.

Please note, there are two SmartFTP editions available. The Ultimate edition has everything we've described here, includes a terminal emulator, Rapidshare and Amazon S3 support, and costs $99.95; the Professional edition is essentially what we've described, and costs $59.95.

What's new in v9 (see completely version history for more)?

- Windows 10 support for latest version

McAfee Avert Stinger is a stand-alone portable antivirus tool which can detect and remove some malware.

At its simplest, all you have to do is download the program, launch it, click Scan Now and wait to see what happens. Stinger's straightforward on-demand scanning shouldn't conflict with any other security software, so you can run it alongside your existing antivirus package without any problems. And if the program detects any threats then it'll remove them for you.

Stinger does have a few interesting settings hidden behind the Preferences button. You might want to check the "Boot sectors" box to ensure the program checks for boot sector viruses, for instance. And if you're sure your system is infected, but Stinger can't find anything, then you might try increasing the heuristic sensitivity level. This makes it more likely that the program will spot suspect files, but also increases the chance that it'll highlight entirely innocent programs, so you should also change the "On virus detection" option from "Repair" to "Report only", at least initially.

Please note, Stinger only detects the most common malware specimens (click the List Viruses button to see them all), and offers no real-time protection measures at all, so it's no substitute for a full antivirus package. The program can be useful, though, if you've been infected by a virus which your regular package has missed: Stinger just might be able to find and remove it for you.

This is the portable version of McAfee Stinger.