The best free Clash Royale alternatives

If you love Clash Royale but want to try something different, these are all the best alternatives you can play on your Android mobile right now.

Tower Defense and card-based strategy games represent the most popular genres of mobile games there is. The best games like Plants vs Zombies have millions of fans spread out across the globe and new clone versions of the games are popping up on the App Store and Google Play Store all the time. One of the biggest games of the genre though, if not the biggest, is Clash Royale.

Clash Royale has amassed well over 100,000,000 downloads on Android alone and has seen over 28,000,000 of those players leave extremely positive reviews. Clash Royale is extremely popular and has made developer Supercell an absolute fortune through its popularity. If you’ve had enough of what might just be the biggest mobile game, however, or if you like to do things a bit differently to how most other people do things, you might be looking for Clash Royale alternatives. If that’s the case, then we’re here to help you. We’ve put together a list of fantastic alternative games to Clash Royale that we think you might like. Let’s go through them now.

The best alternatives to the Clash Royale

Hearthstone

Hearthstone header

Just like Clash Royale, Hearthstone is a card-based strategy game that acks and entertaining and addictive punch. With Hearthstone the table is your battlefield and your mission is to build up a mean collection of battle cards representing heroes, spells, and magical enchantments that will help you get the better of your opponent. What’s really great about Hearthstone is that it is based on the World of Warcraft, meaning anybody familiar with what is one of the biggest games ever, will feel at home wielding Hearthstone cards. Heroes such as the Lich King are here, and you’ll recognize a lot more cards than you’d expect to.

Hearthstone is a built on adaptive PvP dynamic but there’s also a lot here for anybody who wants to play on their own.  The game, which is available on both Android smartphones and iOS iPhones already has a cult following of its own and is incredibly popular.

Hearthstone Download Hearthstone
7

Clash of Clans

Clash Royale is like the card game sibling of Clash of Clans. Both games offer very similar stylistic experiences and even some gameplay elements are similar too. Whereas Clash Royale is about building decks of cards though, Clash of Clans is about building up your defenses and fighting off hordes of enemies as they try to overrun and ultimately defeat you.

For a free game, Clash of Clans offers a very rich experience and there is no doubt that developer Supercell has done a really great job creating a game that will get you hooked. This is why Clash of Clans is one of the most popular mobile games ever created. If you haven’t already played it, you should try it now.

Clash of Clans Download now
8

Titanfall: Assault

Titanfall and Titanfall 2 are pretty epic games. Titanfall 2, in particular, has one of the best single-player campaigns we’ve played for years. The mix of first-person shooter action and giant mech warrior style Titan battles proves a lot of fun. Titanfall: Assault takes the huge action of the two games and shrinks it down into your mobile by producing a card-based strategy game that feels like a mix between Clash Royale and Clash of Clans.

The action here is frantic and loud but requires a deft strategic mind to master. There’s multiplayer action offering the chance to battle against your friends or strangers online as well as an excellent single-player offering for all you loners. What sets this game apart though is the graphics, with a futuristic sci-fi aesthetic bringing the action to life and drawing you into the battle.

Titanfall: Assault Download now
10

Kingdom Rush

Kingdom Rush for Android smartphones is an excellent tower defense game that proves to be a fantastic alternative to Clash Royale. The premise behind Kingdom Rush is simple. You’re responsible for a kingdom in an epic fantasy land filled with forest, mountains, wastelands, and more. Your kingdom will come under attack from vicious hordes of orcs, wizards, trolls, and all other manners of ghastly baddy set on your destruction. That being the case you need to fight them off by strategically building your defenses and placing your troops where they need to be.

There is a lot here for Tower Defense game lovers. There are rich strategic elements you need to master, and the game looks great too. It almost feels like you’re playing in a much more fun version of the world of Warcraft. The game, however, is definitely challenging enough to stand on its own feet without the need to copy or imitate anything else. This is one of the better tower defense games you’ll get to play on mobile and shouldn’t be missed.

Kingdom Rush Download now
9

Star Wars: Commander

Star Wars Commander

Our final game is a big hitter because it is based in a galaxy far far away. The action is here is strategy-based battles that are full of all the iconic vehicles, ships, soldiers, and weapons from the Star Wars universe.  Disney has done a great job with this game creating a compelling experience that stands up against other strategy-based Tower Defense games like Clash of Clans.

There are multiplayer elements to Star Wars: Commander with the ability to link your games to your social accounts and drag your friends and enemies into the action with you. As you’d imagine with a Star Wars game though, there’s also plenty here for anybody who simply wants to play on their own and play through their own adventure. There’s also plenty of bonus content available too with Disney tying in promotions for Star Wars movies and matching the action on your mobile to that going on the big screen. This game is lots of fun for all Star Wars fans and is worth a download for anybody looking for an alternative game to Clash Royale.

Star Wars: Commander Download now
7

Top 10 Zelda games

What Zelda game is the best? Check to see if yours topped our list!

Zelda

Take a look at any list of the best games on any Nintendo console. For each system, you can expect to see a Zelda game at or near the top of the list.

Why is that?

It’s because Nintendo knows that The Legend of Zelda series is special. Each entry in the franchise is a game-changer in terms of gameplay, puzzle-solving, and graphics. 

With that being said, there is so much contention to which Zelda game is the best. Arguably, there is more debate as to which Zelda game is the best than any other series of games ever created. As lifelong fans of the series, we took this list very seriously, and we are open to further discussion in the comments below. 

Top 10 Zelda games

10. The Legend of Zelda

Zelda

It’s kinda crazy just how much the first Zelda game was able to cram in that NES cart. Along with a huge amount of power-ups, dungeons, and secrets, the game even had a save feature. Think about that: the Mario franchise (which was Nintendo’s golden child for years) have just as much to cram in its games but didn’t include a save feature.

As popular as the game was when it first came out, it’s still a jam today. There are even a ton of gamers who play the game with various challenges.

If you’re a fan of the franchise, you need to go back to where it all started. The Legend of Zelda is still just as fun today as it was back in the day!

9. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

Minish Cap

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap has really fallen under the radar in terms of Zelda games. It’s definitely not a title you hear brought up often when people discuss their favorite Zelda games. However, that’s a crying shame because The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap is a phenomenal game. 

The game takes elements from other Zelda games such as enemies, characters, and power-ups, but it tells a creative story and adds an original mechanic to the series. Link now has to solve puzzles both in his normal size and also while the size of a bug. Sometimes, in order to get to a boss’s weak point, you’ll have to shrink like Ant-Man to get past the armor to its weakness. The shrinking mechanic is a ton of fun. The best parts of the game are just exploring the world in your shrunken state and seeing how you can now interact with the world around you.

8. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

link between worlds

The Nintendo DS received two Zelda games: Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks. When compared to other DS games, they’re not bad. When compared to other Zelda games, they’re trash. They employed heinous controls for Zelda standards paired with extremely sub-par stories and dungeons. Yeah, there’s a reason why they aren’t on this list.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds truly learned from the mistakes of its predecessors. A Link Between Worlds has great controls and great dungeons that all tie in with a great story! 

7. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening

Zelda wind fish

There simply isn’t another Zelda game like Link’s Awakening. It has a story unlike any Zelda game and introduces characters extremely dissimilar from your typical Zelda game.

Link is trapped on an island and is planning his escape. While on the island, the community takes him in and treats him like one of their own. Unfortunately, the island is only an illusion in the mind of a giant flying fish. If that sounds weird it’s only because it is. 

Link has to make the choice about whether he should live in this dream world with his new friends, or escape the island to return to his home. This wildly emotional story somehow fits entirely on a small GameBoy cartridge.

6. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Twilight Princess

Let’s go back to E3 2005 really quick when we first saw the trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

Oh man, this trailer is still incredible. When this trailer first dropped, fans went ballistic. The internet erupted with speculation about what Link would be facing, why he turned into a wolf, who the children were, and what on Earth was happening to Hyrule.

Unfortunately, Twilight Princess didn’t quite live up to the hype. Him transforming into a wolf was by far the weakest part of the game. The wolf mechanics weren’t as polished as they should have been, and the collecting missions you did while you played as the wolf were insanely boring. 

However, beneath all of that, there is still a really good game. Some of the dungeons in this game are the best in the entire franchise. New weapons like the Double Clawshot and the Ball and Chain have become series favorites. Also, the game’s new character Midna is so beloved that fans are begging for her return. 

5. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker

Wind Waker

When we first saw trailers and screenshots of Wind Waker, fans were pretty upset. The more cartoony version of Link just wasn’t what anyone was expecting. The games always had a more adult and serious look, so seeing Link look like a cringey anime character was disheartening. 

The hatred was so loud that a lot of fans boycotted the game and refused to buy it. However, those fans missed out on something truly great. Wind Waker has quite possibly the smoothest combat mechanics in all of Zelda. Link works his sword like an artist. It always seems like every time you get hit, there was something you could’ve done to parry it, or to avoid it altogether.

If you can look aside from the artistic choices the game made, you are in for one of the best games in the franchise.

4. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Link to the past

Oh man, here comes the controversy.

No, we don’t think Link to the Past is the best Zelda game. We don’t even think it should make the top three. However, it is still a darn good game. 

In many ways, Link to the Past set the framework for every game to come. At first, you think that the game is going to be relatively short. After beating only three dungeons, you go toe-to-toe with the game’s main villain. However, you then discover that you aren’t even close to being done. You now have to rescue seven maidens (one of which is Zelda) from being trapped in the Dark World, and then face the game’s true final boss, Ganon. No other Zelda game had that same shift in tone. However, so many other Zelda titles have followed that same formula since: (Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, Wind Waker, and Skyward Sword just to name a few).

Link to the past is an incredible game. However, it missed the top three by just a hair.

3. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask

Majora

It’s so weird but Majora’s Mask feels both dead and alive at the same time. The game takes place in this extremely somber world where all of the characters are facing certain doom. There aren’t a lot of happy moments. Instead, there is an over-arching feeling of dread encroaching on this world. However, everyone still goes about their day like everything is normal.

The game runs on a schedule where everyone makes their in-game appointments. You always know that the Goron is going to make a reservation at a certain time, you know that there is a wedding scheduled mere minutes before doomsday, and you know that aliens are going to invade a farm at night! 

The game is made with all of the same bones of Ocarina of Time, so sometimes it feels like you’re playing a really good ROM Hack. However, the completely original story, mechanics, and gameplay make for a truly refreshing game.

2. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Breath of the Wild

Breath of the Wild isn’t just a Zelda game; it’s a celebration of Zelda. It takes pieces of core Zelda traditions and turns them into a masterpiece. There are only four main dungeons (minus the DLC), as well as a final battle in a castle filled with booby traps and easter eggs.

The game is centered on exploration and charting your own course. You decide the order in which you take down the dungeons, and you decide how you will tackle each obstacle. Do you want the Master Sword? Go get it! Do you want to skip all of the dungeons and go straight to Ganon? It isn’t optimal, but you can do that too!

On top of all of that, there are dozens upon dozens of mini-dungeons in the form of shrines throughout the game. You simply can’t play this game for just an hour. You will only be satisfied if you spend hours upon hours taking this monster apart.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Master Sword

We had to.  There simply isn’t a better game.

Not only can you see the change in the Zelda franchise from before and after Ocarina of Time came out, but you can also see it in the history of video games altogether. This is the type of game that makes other game studios go “What are we even doing with our lives?”

Ocarina of Time is the embodiment of everything that’s great about video games. It is universally loved and adored by gamers everywhere. It’s not just the greatest Zelda game, but it’s also the greatest video game ever created.

Mic drop.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time turns 20. Here’s how it changed gaming forever Read Now

The Best 5 (Free) VPNs You Should Use in 2019

Which free VPNs are the best answer for your privacy needs? Let’s find out!

Our team is always looking for things we think our readers will value. If we make a content partnership like the one featured in this article, then we may receive compensation for publishing.

In January 2019, it was reported that as much as 1,769,185,063 records were leaked across multiple data breaches globally. Wouldn’t it be nice to know that you’re protected? Luckily, a VPN can help!

A VPN provides an encrypted connection between your computer and your Internet Service Provider (ISP) by serving as a proxy. The VPN service can also make it difficult for hackers to intercept your internet activity and steal your data.

In addition, a VPN can help you access geo-restricted content as well as blocked websites. For instance, the kind of content that you’ll find on Netflix when you access it from the U.S. is different from the content that you’ll find when accessed from some places in Asia or Africa.

You should check with Netflix’s terms of use before you try this though.

However, many people often have a hard time knowing which one to choose out of the many free VPN services available. In this review, we will provide insights on top 5 free VPNs we think you should try in 2019 in the order of their value propositions.

The Best 5 (Free) VPNs You Should Use in 2019

1. UrbanVPN

Urban VPN

Urban VPN brands itself as the only 100% free, 100% fast, and 100% anonymous VPN service in the world. Founded by Urban Cyber Security in 2018, the Urban VPN team is made up of more than 30 experts with backgrounds that run across cybersecurity, ethical hacking, and network systems.

Many people tend to be skeptical about free VPN services because you may never know what you are unwittingly losing in exchange for the free service. Urban VPN, however, can provide a sustainably free VPN service by setting up its service as a P2P powered VPN in which all users help to unblock the internet by sharing their network resources.

Urban VPN

Despite being a P2P VPN server, Urban VPN protects its users’ identity and data with encryption and DNS/IPv6 leak protection technology. The best part is that Urban VPN doesn’t have a cap on accessible data bandwidth, unlike some other VPNs that can only allow you to browse the web without support for streaming or torrenting.

Many VPN services tend to sacrifice speed on the altar of anonymous encryption. However, Urban VPN is optimized to deliver a fast connection through a large network of fast VPN servers in 81 locations. It is also compatible with Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android operating systems.

Cons: The fact that Urban VPN is based in the U.S. suggests that it might keep user logs. However, the company is upfront about the data logging in its privacy policy.

2. Windscribe

Windscribe offers both free and premium VPN services but its free service seems to be the most generous among other competitors with freemium models. Windscribe provides users with a free VPN service that covers 10 GB of data every month and users can get an extra five GB if they tweet about the service. In addition, to the VPN service, Windscribe also has an inbuilt ad and malware blocker called R.O.B.E.R.T for blocking trackers, malware, clickbait, and specific content types.

Windscribe

Windscribe’s VPN service is available on Windows, MacOS, Linux iOS, and Android. It also has browser extensions for use on Chrome, Opera, and Firefox. We also love the fact that you can set up Windshield on your router and some other devices such as Amazon FireTV and Kodi. Windscribe can also be used on whatever software or devices that can run OpenVPN or IKEv2 protocols

Cons: The 10 GB data cap doesn’t provide much room to stream content. Users of the free version are restricted to only 10 servers out of 50 servers. The VPN also stores some user information while in use.

3. Hide.me

Hide.me offers a decent free VPN service that is not particularly impressive or dismissible. Hide.me also has a freemium model – free users get strong encryption, zero-user logs, and ad-free browsing. Hide.me has a strong 256-bit AES encryption and it goes beyond encrypting your internet traffic data to also providing encryption on your personal files, passwords, and financial information. It features an in-built kill switch that ends your session if you suddenly lose the VPN connection. This way your computer doesn’t automatically reconnect to the internet without the VPN.

Hide.METhe service is available on virtually all operating systems including Linux, Windows. MacOS, iOS, and Android. Hide.me can be used in-browser with Chrome, Firefox, and on hardware such as Amazon FireTV and routers. It is strong enough to support five simultaneous connections, however, the usage is capped at two GB of data per month.

Cons: The biggest con is the low cap on data use. It will serve the purpose for light browsing, but you won’t be able to do much on YouTube. Furthermore, there’s obviously no Netflix for you. In addition, free users can only access five servers and only one of those servers is in Europe.

4. Proton VPN

ProtonVPN

ProtonVPN provides free and paid users a strong encryption service that will obscure your browsing activity and protect your personal data. ProtonVPN has a proven policy of not keeping user logs and it is compliant with Swiss privacy laws. It also offers unlimited browsing, but it doesn’t support streaming or torrenting.

One key differentiating factor with ProtonVPN is the quality of its customer service. ProtonVPN has a team committed to customer support. ProtonVPN is founded by the team that delivered ProtonMail, the world’s largest encrypted email network.

Cons: Free users can only access server networks in three countries. It doesn’t have a data cap but it seems to suffer from slow connection speeds that can be frustrating. The lack of streaming and torrenting support also makes it unusable to access entertainment content.

5. TunnelBear

Tunnelbear

TunnelBear offers a VPN service with a user-friendly UI/UX and it delivers decent connection speeds to servers in about 22 countries. It delivers a reliable encryption service with AES 256-bit encryption that works on macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Chrome, and Firefox. Tunnelbear doesn’t keep user data logs and it is committed to independent audits as proof that your data and identity will always be kept private.

TunnelBear has been operational since 2011 after being founded by Ryan Dochuk and Daniel Kaldor. The fact that it is still alive suggests that the team is doing something right.

Tunnel also offers an incredible VPN footprint with more than 350 VPN servers spread out in 22 countries. However, it only provides free users with 500 MB of data per month and it seems that the free plan is designed to be a teaser that encourages you to sign up for one of its Pro plans.

Cons: There’s not much anyone can do with 500 MB of data every month. In addition, TunnelBear doesn’t support streaming and services such as Netflix are also unavailable.

Conclusion

VPNs have become an important element of the modern internet experience because of the security and privacy that they provide. A Gallup study conducted in November 2018 revealed that Americans are more worried about cybercrimes than violent crimes. For instance, 71% of Americans polled were worried that their personal or financial information might be hacked and 67% of the people polled were worried about identity theft. In contrast, only 24% of respondents were worried about being a victim of terrorist attacks.

Safe VPN

In this review, we have established that you can put security and privacy fears to rest by using a free VPN Service.

In our opinion, Urban VPN clearly stands heads and shoulder above the other free VPN services profiled in this review. The fact that it doesn’t have a Pro version eliminates the need to place restrictions on the quality of the free service. Hence it is not surprising that urban VPN doesn’t have bandwidth data caps.

In addition, it doesn’t slow down your network or ruin your browsing experience with ads. Instead, it has an extensive spread with 81 server locations across North America, South America, Asia, Middle East, Europe, Africa, and Oceania.

How to watch the 2019 Women’s World Cup online

The Women’s World Cup is here! Here’s how you can watch it!

FifaIf you’re like us, you cannot wait to watch the FIFA Women’s World Cup. However, if you live in the U.S. where soccer is nowhere near as popular as it is in countries where they call it football, you may be struggling to figure out where to watch it.

You might be lucky and have a sports bar nearby that will be streaming every game. However, you might also live in a place where a baseball game would take precedence over a soccer game.

Luckily, we’ve got you covered with services that are here to help.

How to watch the 2019 Women’s World Cup online

fuboTV

FuboTV

If you’re looking to just watch the end of the Women’s World Cup and nothing else, you can do so for free with fuboTV. 

Depending on your plan, fuboTV offers between 99 and 167 channels as well as access to more than 100 events streamed in 4K. 

The service offers a one-week free trial, so you can watch it, and then ditch the service. If you don’t, you’ll be stuck paying the monthly subscription fee, which starts at about $55 per month.

If you’d like, you can really take advantage of the free trial period and add premium channels such as Showtime, which you can also watch unto your trial is over.

To subscribe, either download the app or visit their website. You will need to create an account by entering your email address. You also need to enter your credit card information after choosing a plan. However,  you will not be charged unless you watch beyond your free trial.

7

Hulu + Live TV

Hulu + Live TV

Unfortunately, you can’t watch the Women’s World Cup with just a normal Hulu subscription. If you could, this would be a pretty short article. However, you can still watch it through Hulu, you’ll just need to shell out a few more bucks.

For about $45 per month, you can sign up for Hulu + Live TV and watch the Women’s World Cup to your heart’s content. You can also get a one-week free trial, just like with fuboTV.

Before you start your free trial, you should check to make sure that one of the channels showing the Women’s World Cup (FOX, FS1, or FS2) are available in your zip code. You can check on the Hulu website. Finally, you need to make sure that your device supports Hulu before you go with this option.

Also, like with fuboTV, you need to create an account with an email address as well as enter credit card information. Again, you won’t be charged until you exceed your free trial.

If you already have Hulu, upgrading your current package probably sounds better than buying a separate service altogether just to watch the Women’s World Cup.

Hulu Plus Download Free ►
7

Sling TV

Sling TVIf you don’t want to miss a single game, then Sling TV might be your best option. Currently, the service has a deal for you to get your first month for 40% off. 

Sure, it does stink that there isn’t a free trial. However, since those free trials were only for a week, you wouldn’t have been able to watch every game for free anyway as the Women’s World Cup is about a month long.

When you purchase your subscription, make sure that you choose a plan that includes Sling Blue. Sling Blue is the only package that has FOX, FS1, or FS2 (it actually has all three). With the discount, Sling Blue on its own costs $15, making it the cheapest option thus far.

Sling TV Download now ►
9

PlayStation Vue

Vue has always been one of our favorite ways to stream live TV. You can build a package that includes 85 channels. You can have up to 10 different DVR profiles. You can watch on your smart TV, computer, phone, or tablet. And there’s a free 5-day trial. After the trial ends, you can still watch all the games on their most basic package for $44.99/month. If you have an Apple TV or a PS4, you can watch multiple channels at the same time.

PlayStation Vue Mobile Download Free ►
9

FOX Sports Go

Fox Sports Go

If you have a subscription to a cable or streaming service, you can also log into the FOX Sports Go website and watch the games there.

FOX Sports GO Download Free ►
8

Watch for free

If you don’t feel like paying to watch the games, you can see all the highlights on the FOX Sports Twitter account. No, you won’t be able to watch the entire game, but you can see every goal after it happens. If you want to watch the games live and in their entirety, then this isn’t for you.

Some of the games will be broadcast on your local FOX affiliate, so if you have an antenna, you can get those games for free.

Wrapping up

For all practical purposes, Sling TV seems like the best choice. It’s the cheapest option you have for watching every game during the Women’s World Cup. No matter what option you choose, we hope you enjoy watching the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup!

 

How to join Test Pilot and try new Firefox extensions before everyone else

See the future of the web with cutting-edge features available only on Firefox.

With any product or service that we use, we hope the company takes our voice into account. Take Twitter, for example. Recently, the characters per tweet increased from 140 to 280, but there still isn’t an option to edit a tweet in case of typos, which users have been asking for since Twitter was created. Wouldn’t it be useful to have the ability to choose what we want most in our services?

Mozilla Firefox DOWNLOAD FREE
8

Enter Firefox’s Test Pilot. Essentially, Firefox creates product concepts called “Experiments” in the form of browser add-ons and features. Users get to test-drive them for a short period of time. Concepts are created by Firefox team members, but anyone can submit ideas that could be a good addition to Firefox. Once beta testing is complete, some Experiments graduate to become official features.

The Test Pilot Wiki shows every single step taken by the Firefox team, and is completely transparent about how they come up with ideas for features with the Test Initiator Journey. As users, an in-depth A to Z timeline really makes us feel involved with the process and that our contributions, like feature submissions or just giving general feedback, are appreciated.

Once you’ve joined Test Pilot, you’ll have access to cutting-edge new features that will make browsing better. Do you remember life before tabs? It was brutal. Now, every browser has them. As Firefox continues innovating, Test Pilot gives you access to new features that are likely to become the essentials of the future.

If you’d like to see what Experiments are happening now and take part in building a great browser, head over to the Test Pilot page.

Hollywood or home movie? How to get the most out of your smartphone content

Are you making the most of your smartphone?

Photos, videos, music – you name it, chances are your smartphone can do it. Heck, you can even film your own award-winning, critically-acclaimed movie with an iPhone 5S.

Your smartphone empowers you with all the tools you need to be creative, without the need to buy lots of expensive hardware. And while this is great, it’s only as good as the effort you put into it. No point in having a 12MP camera if you’re not going to use it, right?

So what do you do with your smartphone content? Share it on social media and wait for the likes to pour in? Why stop there? Why not take your content further and create ringtones from your favourite music, movies out of your happiest memories, or multimedia gifts for friends and family. Make use of your content in a meaningful way, or your creations will fade as quickly as the latest viral post.

At Softonic, we spend a lot of our time working with and reviewing creative software to help you get more out of your content. One of our favourites is this multimedia suite from AVS4U that includes five simple yet powerful tools to convert, edit, and rework audio and video.

AVS4U’s suite includes the following five programs:

AVS Video Editor

A versatile, feature-packed editor to splice, split, and enhance your smartphone videos. AVS Video Editor takes you through the entire movie-making process, from helping you storyboard your ideas to correcting hand-shake, exposure, and colour. Choose from over 300 effects to really make your video project stand out.

AVS Video Converter

AVS Video Converter does exactly what it says – takes virtually any file format and converts it into another of your choosing.

If you’re creating a wedding video, for example, and want to include guests’ smartphone footage, you might find them in different formats. AVS Video Converter solves this problem by converting video clips into a single format for easy editing and playback.

AVS Video Remaker

Imagine your friend sent you a video clip of her dancing at a party. She wants to upload the video to social media, but without the part where she trips over her heels and lands in the punch bowl. With AVS Video Remaker, you can remove the embarrassing moment and send the edited version back to your friend without reconversion. This ensures the original file remains compatible with her social media account.

AVS Audio Converter

If your music library is filled with MP3s, FLACs, ALACs, and WAVs, but you’ve got a DJ playlist to create in less than an hour, you need AVS Audio Converter. It’ll take your preselected tracks and convert them to a single, universally-compatible file type and size (of your choosing), ensuring you can blow the roof off the party without fiddling with file types.

AVS Audio Editor

If you’re feeling creative, take that DJ playlist and add your own sounds, effects, and mix edits with the AVS Audio Editor. You can clean up interference, add echo or delay, cut, splice, and trim – even mix together several tracks at once like DJ Woody. It’ll even make ringtones out of your favourite tracks.

The AVS4U multimedia package costs just $29,50 (Introducing the coupon AVS-Softonic18), down from its original price of $59 (70% off ). That’s for the unlimited version. That’s excellent value for money, but don’t take our word for it – download and try it for yourself. But hurry – the discount ends soon, so avoid disappointment by downloading it today.

You can now mute accounts on Instagram. Here’s how.

Tired of seeing pictures of your old roommate’s dog on Instagram every. single. day? As much as you might love ol’ Scraps, your old roommate should really throttle back on the pictures. Until he gets his act together, you might want to mute him. Starting now, you can.

Instagram Download Instagram
7

Instagram now allows you to mute accounts. That means you still follow them, but you won’t see their photos in your feed. If you ever want to check in on them, it’s as simple as going to their profile page. You can also unmute the account to return it (and all those dog photos) to your regular Insta-stream.

To mute an account, tap the … menu in the corner of the post. From there, you can choose whether to mute posts, or mute posts and stories from an account. You can also mute posts and stories by pressing and holding on a story in your tray, or from a profile.

So why not just unfollow someone instead? Consider that if you unfollow a private account but want to check in on them later, you’d have to ask permission again, and that could kick off an awkward conversation about why you unfollowed them in the first place. It might be safer just to mute someone and then you always have the option to reconnect down the road without drawing attention to yourself.

Instagram also wants to explain why they stopped sharing posts in chronological order, so if you’re curious about the random algorithm goofiness they’re sending your way, you can read more here.

And if you’re curious what we’re up to, why not follow Softonic on Instagram? We’d be honored.

Alternatives to Clash of Clans on Android

After a long wait, you can finally download Clash of Clans for Android! If you were first in line when the game was released, however, you might be a little bored already. If you’re looking for something new, you’re in luck! Below, we give you a list of 7 excellent alternatives to Clash of Clans on Android!

Castle Clash

Castle Clash stands out from other games that look like Clash of Clans because it introduces some interesting modifications to the well-known CoC formula. After a successful attack, individuals on the battlefield don’t actually die, and can be used again in combat. In addition, units stationed at the base are able to help defend it. These rules seem pretty standard in other games, but not in Clash of Clans. Castle Clash doesn’t follow CoC 100%, but we’re okay with that.

Battle Dragons: Strategy Game

The game mechanics in Battle Dragons are very similar to Clash of Clans, but it doesn’t copy the rest of the game too closely. The game doesn’t follow the graphics or menu placement of CoC and, as the name of the game suggests, the main characters are dragons. It’s a good choice, as it gives developers a huge range of options to create even better, more powerful, and more beautiful dragons.

Jungle Heat

Jungle Heat appeals to lovers of military games. The action takes place in the jungle, raw materials are gold and crude oil, and the goal is to expand the base and buy futuristic arsenals of weapons. The graphics are nice and colorful, but it has its own style. The gameplay is very similar to that of Clash of Clans.

Clash of Lords

Clash of Lords is another game that draws in handfuls of Clash of Clans fans. The game and menu placement are very similar to the original. Images appear more three-dimensional and polished than other CoC clones, but of course this is a matter of individual preference. To be honest, it’s difficult to identify one element that distinguishes Clash of Lords from other similar games!

Greed for Glory: War Strategy

Greed for Glory: Strategy War is the only game in this compilation which features fully three-dimensional graphics that let you freely rotate and zoom in on the village. This gives you a better view of the battlefield during battle, but the graphics aren’t very refined. Greed for Glory has a kingdom instead of a clan and the atmosphere of the game is, therefore, more “medieval,” with a touch of fantasy, magic and, of course, dragons!

Clans Clash: League of Shadows

Clans Clash: League of Shadows has the most atmospheric graphics. They introduce their own style of mystery by using darker, dirtier colors. It will appeal to those who have had enough of the gaudy, candy colors in other games similar to Clash of Clans. The aesthetics are Steampunk style, or the alternative version of reality in which technology has developed rapidly, and the nineteenth century has many modern inventions. All this is mixed with fantasy in which there are orcs, goblins, and other fantastic creatures. The gameplay and mechanics of the game are very similar to that of Clash of Clans.

Throne Wars

Throne Wars is a game for those who are getting a little bored with games too similar to Clash of Clans. Throne Wars gameplay differs greatly from games like CoC. It involves developing a village, improving buildings, fighting with other players, and creating clans. In Throne Wars, we also have to develop more than one village. It’s the only game that’s played in portrait mode, or vertically. If you want to try something other than an exact copy of Clash of Clans, Throne Wars is well worth the download.

These seven games can be divided into two groups. The first is games that are very much like Clash of Clans, which include Jungle Heat (the only difference is a more military appearance) and Clash of Lords. All other games mentioned are trying to add something to make them stand out from the rest: Castle Clash is about battlefields and defending settlements; Battle Dragons is all about dragons; Greed for Glory is the only one presented in full 3D; and Throne Wars is the most distinct from the rest – graphics, vertical arrangement of the game, and more complex gameplay. In short, there’s something for everyone!

What’s your choice when you want a change to Clash of Clans on your Android phone?

How to enable Facebook Two Step Verification

facebook iconFacebook is one of the largest social networks in the world. It consumes the attention of over a billion users across the web and for many, it has become a necessity. The company even created its own Android launcher. It would be disastrous to have your Facebook account hacked; in affect, your online identity would be hijacked. Thankfully, there are ways to protect your account from would-be hackers.

Google, Dropbox, and Apple have already implemented Two-Step Verification to protect their users. Facebook has followed suit with their own version of Two-Step Verification, which they have dubbed “Login Approvals.” Login Approvals work on both the Facebook website and on mobile devices.

The process of setting up Login Approvals is very straightforward as Facebook provides clear instructions. You will need an actual cellphone number to use Login Approvals, as Facebook cannot send confirmation texts to landlines or Google Voice. Facebook also recommends upgrading to the latest version of your app to guarantee a flawless setup.

Find out how to secure your Facebook account with Login Approvals with this guide.

Continue reading “How to enable Facebook Two Step Verification”

How to rip and archive a Tumblr

Tumblr LogoTumblr is an excellent source for discovering art and other images. Tumblr has been around since 2007, meaning older blogs may have accumulated a massive amount of pictures. It would generally take a great deal of time to browse through every blogs. Similarly, you might have your own extensive Tumblr with content you wish to easily archive or upload elsewhere.

Thankfully you can easily extract all of the images from Tumblr blogs with TumblRipper. We’ll show how to use this app and preserve your picture collection.

Continue reading “How to rip and archive a Tumblr”