Archive for the ‘Free Software’ Category

How to control two computers with a single keyboard and mouse – St. George Daily Spectrum

George Cox| PC Periodicals

Many professions, such as video editing, sound mixing, graphic designing, etc., requires multiple devices to work on simultaneously. In addition, many people use multiple devices for entertainment and work side by side. If you are in such a situation, it might be frustrating for you to switch between devices with different mouse and keyboard for every device.

To overcome such difficulties, many users stack their keyboards on top of each other. However, it is not a feasible solution. Instead of that, you can use much better options that I am going to describe in this article.

In this article, I will walk through several ways to control two computers with one keyboard and mouse. These will allow you to use your mouse without borders and keyboards to function on multiple devices. So, let us start looking at the top ways to control two computers with one keyboard and mouse.

Mouse without Borders (http://aka.ms/mm) is a software product that makes you the captain of your computer fleet by allowing you to control up to four computers from a single mouse and keyboard. This means that with Mouse without Borders you can copy text or drag and drop files across computers. It was developed by a Microsoft developer Truong Do, as an experimental project. The Microsoft Garage Mouse without Borders application is available for Windows OS at Microsoft Store for free.

After downloading and installing the application, you can configure it as per your preference. From the dashboard of the Microsoft Garage Mouse without Borders, you can drag and arrange your devices in the same order as they are placed physically from left to right. This would ensure that you can correctly hop your mouse pointer to the adjacent systems screen.

Generally, Microsoft Garage Mouse without Borders application works well, but it might start to stutter when three or four devices are connected. Still, features such as clipboard sharing allow you to copy and paste between connected devices. You can also drag and drop the items from one device to another without any issue.

If you are having trouble using the Microsoft Garage Mouse without Borders for controlling your multiple Windows PCs, you can use next best software alternative, Input Director. Although installing and setting up the Input Director is a bit intensive than the Microsoft Garage Mouse without Borders, especially for beginner users.

Input Director comes with a lot of security features that let you determine which computer systems are allowed to join the network. In addition, you can create customized hotkeys for different devices. Drag and drop from one device to another, copy and paste from one device to another, and many more advanced features are available on Input Director. Unlike Microsoft Garage Mouse without Borders, Input Director is not freely available to use for commercial purposes. However, you can use it free for personal use.

If you are uncomfortable using the software programs to control two computers with one keyboard and mouse, you can use a very good hardware alternative, the KVM Switch. The KVM Switches are not new and used by users for a long time before the software applications came into existence. The KVM Switch would simply let you switch the mouse and keyboard control to another device with an A/B switch.

The KVM switch is basically a box that you connect each of your computers monitor cable, mouse, and keyboard to the various ports. Then just flip the switch to which computer you wish your monitor, mouse, and keyboard to be connected to for input or viewing. This is one of the easier methods of sharing your devices.

There are multiple configurations of connections available, and can control several different computers.

It might be absurd to use the remote desktop to manage devices placed side by side, but it is one of the most straightforward solutions to control two computers with one keyboard and mouse. If all the devices you want to manage are Windows 10 based, you do not require any third-party application to control them remotely. Windows 10 comes with a fantastic in-built Remote Desktop application that helps you efficiently manage the devices.

Multitasking with several devices can be tedious, especially when you are using cross-platform devices. With the options listed in this article, you can easily switch between

the devices and control two (or more) computers with one keyboard and mouse.

Stay protected!

George Cox is the owner of Computer Diagnostics and Repair. He can be reached at 346-4217.

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How to control two computers with a single keyboard and mouse - St. George Daily Spectrum

Free Music Making Software Market is Set To Fly High in Years to Come EcoChunk – EcoChunk

Latest survey on Worldwide Free Music Making Software Market is conducted to providehidden gems performance analysis of Worldwide Free Music Making Softwareto better demonstrate competitive environment . The study is a mix of quantitative market stats and qualitative analytical information to uncover market size revenue breakdown by key business segments and end use applications. The report bridges the historical data from 2015 to 2020 and forecasted till 2026*, the outbreak of latest scenario in Worldwide Free Music Making Software market have made companies uncertain about their future outlook as the disturbance in value chain have made serious economic slump. Some are the key & emerging players that are part of coverage and profiled in the study are Ableton, Adobe, Apple, Avid & MAGIX.

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If you are part of the Worldwide Free Music Making Software industry or intend to be, then study would provide you comprehensive outlook. It is vital to keep your market knowledge up to date analysed by major players and high growth emerging players. If a different set of players need to be analysed as per geography or regional target then enquire us with your customized requirements.

Worldwide Free Music Making Software Market: Competition AnalysisWith drastic change in consumers behaviour, firms, brands and value stakeholder in Worldwide Free Music Making Software are curious to understand the implications for their products and services. Some of key competitors or manufacturers included in the study are Ableton, Adobe, Apple, Avid & MAGIX

Market Analysis by Types:, Free Music Making Software markets by type, Editing, Mixing & Recording

Market Analysis by Applications:Professional Users & Casual Users

Worldwide Free Music Making Software Quantitative Market Data

Market Data breakdown by major geographies, Type & Application/End-users Worldwide Free Music Making Software Market Revenue & Growth Rate by Type [, Free Music Making Software markets by type, Editing, Mixing & Recording] (2016-2026) Worldwide Free Music Making Software Market Revenue & Growth Rate by Application [Professional Users & Casual Users] (2016-2026) Worldwide Free Music Making Software Market Revenue & Growth Rate by Each Region Specified (2016-2026) Worldwide Free Music Making Software Market Volume & Growth Rate by Each Region Specified, Application & Type (2016-2026) Worldwide Free Music Making Software Market Revenue Share & Y-O-Y Growth Rate by Players (2020)

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Important Features that are under offering & key highlights of the Worldwide Free Music Making Software market report:1. Why lots of Key players are not profiled in Study?> The market study is surveyed collecting data of various companies from Worldwide Free Music Making Software industry, and the base for coverage is NAICS standards. However, the study is not limited to profile only few companies; connect with sales executive to get customized list. The standard version of research report is listed with players like Ableton, Adobe, Apple, Avid & MAGIX

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Free Music Making Software Market is Set To Fly High in Years to Come EcoChunk - EcoChunk

Governments are finding new ways to squash free expression online – The Economist

Oct 16th 2021

DAKAR, DUBAI, ISTANBUL, NEW YORK AND SINGAPORE

ON OCTOBER 8TH two journalists, Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov, won the Nobel peace prize for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression. The Kremlin congratulated Mr Muratov for being brave, which he is. Six of his colleagues at Novaya Gazeta, the Russian newspaper he founded in 1993, have been murdered.

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Ms Ressa is brave, too. Her news organisation, Rappler, started as a Facebook page in 2011. It is one of very few in the Philippines that criticises Rodrigo Duterte, a president who urges the police to kill suspects without trial. At least ten journalists have been murdered since Mr Duterte came to power. In 2016, when he was president-elect, he said: just because youre a journalist you are not exempted from assassination, if youre a son of a bitch.

The Nobel award recognises a sad truth. Globally, freedom of expression is in retreat. The bluntest methods of silencing dissent are widely wielded: autocrats and criminal gangs often use the sword against the pen (or bullets against bloggers). Many governments also lock people up for peacefully expressing their views.

But these old-fashioned forms of repression are increasingly reinforced with or replaced by newer techniques. Freedom House, a think-tank, reports that in the past year efforts to control speech online escalated in 30 of the 70 countries it monitors, and receded only in 18 (see map). Many autocrats and would-be autocrats look with envy at China, where the Communist Party has overseen the construction of a walled-off information sphere, within which criticism of those in power can barely be seen or heard. None can copy it exactly, but many are deploying digital tools to curate the information that reaches their citizens.

Some autocrats still believe that suspending internet services completely is a good way to stymie critics, particularly in an emergency. In 2020 there were at least 155 regional or national internet shutdowns in 29 countries, according to Access Now, an NGO. More than a hundred of those took place in India. But shutdowns batter economies and make strongmen look crude. In 2011 a panicked Hosni Mubarak, Egypts dictator, tried to quash a revolution by switching off the internet. Outrageand boredomspurred even more Egyptians onto the streets. Mr Mubarak was ousted.

Chinas model is more sophisticated. Its national firewall blocks access to foreign social media and a host of other sources of information. Armies of human censors scan Chinese websites. Controls are constantly refined. In 2009 the government suspended internet access almost entirely in Xinjiang, a western region, following riots there. Now the internet is up again but police force Uyghurs, an oppressed minority, to install mobile apps that spy on all their online activity. They can be locked up for downloading a foreign product such as Skype, or software that lets them visit foreign sites such as Facebook.

Any government can order an internet service provider to blacklist sites it doesnt like. Turkey blocks nearly 470,000 sites. It added 59,000 to the list last year. But creating a firewall even remotely like Chinas is hard, even for governments willing to spend billions. One reason is that Chinas internet infrastructure was built, from the outset, with these kinds of controls in mind. The party was blocking sites as early as 1996, when only about 150,000 Chinese were online.

Another reason Chinas controls have proven so effective is that it has a domestic market big enough to support home-made alternatives to every major international website. There is plenty of content inside the firewall to keep Chinese web users entertained, so it chafes less. The sheer size of the Chinese market also reduces the economic costs of walling off the national web. Meanwhile, the Communist Party has extraordinary powers to boss domestic web firms around. Companies such as Tencent, a social-media giant, and Baidu, a search engine, have to hire, train and manage most of the censors who keep Chinas internet spotless.

China also exports software and hardware that help other regimes build a more authoritarian internet. Iran is a happy customer. Officials there cite Chinas great firewall as a model to emulate. Iran already blocks popular foreign services such as Twitter and Telegram. But its pious leaders think it has not gone far enough. The government has been working to create an alternative internet known as the National Information Network. The idea is that all its services would be hosted on domestic servers, with access linked to national identity cards.

Russias plans for purging the domestic internet of free thought are among the most ambitious. Vladimir Putin claims that the global internet is a tool of the CIA. In 2019 he signed an internet sovereignty law with the proclaimed goal of protecting Russia from online threats to its security. That law ordered all providers to install technology that allows the Kremlin to track, filter and reroute traffic.

Gregory Asmolov of Kings College London says that although Russia is ramping up its controls years after China began doing so, it is benefiting from being able to plug in much more modern kit. Roya Ensafi at the University of Michigan says the government is growing keen on tools that make websites slow to load, instead of completely unreachable. That renders them useless for distributing photos and video (the kinds of content the Kremlin finds most troublesome). It is more difficult for clever web users to get around than old-fashioned methods of blocking sites, and more difficult for organisations that monitor and publicise cases of online censorship to detect.

The Russian government is also trying to nudge its citizens to stop using big websites headquartered abroad. It is throwing money at Rutube, an alternative to YouTube owned by Gazprom, the state gas giant. Blocking YouTube is not yet feasible; ordinary Russians would be outraged if they could no longer watch cooking shows and celebrity tittle-tattle on it. But if enough content is herded onto Rutube, it might one day be possible to shut down YouTube without too much backlash.

Meanwhile, all new mobile phones sold in Russia must be set to use Yandex, a Russian search engine, by default. The government plans to require all public-sector workers, including teachers and university professors, to use only Russian email and messenger services while doing their jobs.

Other governments are also trying to persuade users to ditch foreign sites. The United Arab Emirates steers residents towards messaging apps with murky origins (at least one is connected to a government-backed firm). When members of Indias ruling party fell out with Twitter earlier this year they began encouraging their supporters to use Koo, a local alternative. In January spin doctors working for Turkeys president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said they would no longer communicate using WhatsApp, a messaging service owned by Facebook. They encouraged people to sign up for Bi P, a product of Turkcell, a big Turkish telecoms company.

Autocrats reckon that having more citizens on domestic services will make it easier to police what they say. They are also using new software to spy on citizens no matter which devices they own or which websites they visit. Freedom House says 45 countries in its sample were found to have used such spyware at some point in the past 12 months; it calls this a crisis for human rights.

In July investigators for more than a dozen newspapers said they had obtained 50,000 phone numbers of people who they believe were being considered for surveillance by clients of NSO Group, an Israeli firm that helps governments snoop on mobile devices. The governments included those of Mexico, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates. The list of people who may have been surveilled included journalists, politicians and human-rights activists. A British judge ruled in May that Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, even used spyware to monitor his ex-wife. Snaffling personal data from peoples devices not only helps governments smear critics. It also discourages whistle-blowers and other people with important stories from speaking to journalists, for fear their identities will leak.

All this whizzy technology is increasingly combined with new laws to chill speech. Last year police in at least 55 of the 70 countries monitored by Freedom House investigated, arrested or convicted someone because of posts made on social media. That was the highest number of any year since the index was launched 11 years ago. They include a woman in Thailand who was sentenced to 43 years in jail for sharing clips from a podcast that criticised the monarchy (her initial sentence, of 87 years, was reduced because she pleaded guilty). Thailand is among several countries which have used computer crime laws to greatly expand the types of speech that can be considered criminal.

Lately web firms, not users, have been the target of most new rules. One increasingly common requirement is that they must store user data in the country in which it is generated, where governments can more easily get at it. China has required this since 2017. Other jurisdictions that have passed or are drafting similar legislation include Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Bangladesh.

Indias government is especially keen to tame digital firms. It is demanding that WhatsApp identify who first sends any message on its platform, which would require removing the end-to-end encryption that protects its users privacy. New rules which came into effect in February require big social-media firms to establish offices within Indias borders, and appoint local representatives. These people face up to seven years in prison if their employers do not comply with local rules. These include taking down within 36 hours content the government deems threatening to public order, decency, morality or national security. To say that such vaguely worded statutes are open to abuse is putting it mildly.

In Turkey Mr Erdogan was accusing journalists of spreading fake news long before Donald Trump made it fashionable. Now his ruling Justice and Development party is considering making the publication of disinformation on social media a crime punishable by up to five years behind bars. The government doubtless hopes it will help keep a lid on dissent. Kerem Altiparmak, a human-rights lawyer, notes that the government has already succeeded in taming Turkeys press. He says if authorities can now subdue social media the free flow of information will end.

Last year Turkey gave individuals and companies the right to demand that tech firms delete some information about them. This supposedly emulates the right to be forgotten held by citizens of the European Union, but safeguards against abuse of the new system are weak. By the end of 2020 nearly 40,000 news reports had been blocked or removed from the web by court order. These include a story about an adviser to Mr Erdogan who forged his high-school diploma, messages posted to a forum about the presidents wifes luxury handbag, and articles about a wrestling champion who was convicted of rape. The web censors have occasionally ended up chasing their own tails. Earlier this year, after one court blocked access to a story concerning a tender secured by a friend of Mr Erdogans son, a second court blocked access to news reports about the first courts decision.

In a few cases new rules aim not to delete speech, but to ensure that governments own propaganda stays put. Leaders of all stripes took fright when, in January, big social-media sites suspended Donald Trumps account for inciting insurrection. In September Brazils president, Jair Bolsonaro, signed an update to internet rules narrowing the circumstances under which firms can remove posts that they believe breach their in-house moderation policies. Mexicos senate majority leader has proposed a law that would allow the countrys internet regulator to restore posts and accounts that social media firms have decided to take down. In June Nigeria began blocking Twitter after it deleted a message from the president, Muhammadu Buhari, alluding to Nigerias civil war, in which perhaps 1m people died, and warning modern secessionists that they would be treated in the language they understand.

Autocracies will doubtless continue to combine high- and low-tech ways of suppressing online speech. During tense times in Egypt police have sometimes stopped people on the streets and demanded they unlock their phones, to see if they have shared anything subversive. Soldiers in Myanmar have been carrying out similar duties since the army launched its coup in February. Freedom House finds that last year people in 41 countries were beaten up or killed because of things they had said online. In a speech in 2019 Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda, warned online critics outside the country that they risked reprisals. His words carried especial menace, since Rwandan dissidents abroad have often met untimely ends. Those making noise on the internet do so because theyre far from the fire, he said. If they dare get close to it they will face its heat.

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline "Walls of silence"

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Governments are finding new ways to squash free expression online - The Economist

Buy a ‘free’ iPhone 13 with trade-in: Everything to know about Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T’s deals – CNET

The iPhone 13 lineup arrived last month, and as usual carriers rolled out tempting trade-in deals to entice people to switch over to Apple's latest and greatest. (Here are some of the best iPhone 13 deals around.) AT&T came out of the gate essentially giving away the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Mini for a starting price that can go as low as "free" to new and existing customers. Verizon later effectively matched that offer, while AT&T bumped its deal to also allow for a free iPhone 13 (and will also offer $1,000 off the iPhone 13 Pro Max with qualifying trade-ins, too).

T-Mobile is similarly offering all three devices for free to both new and existing customers.

In all cases, there are plenty of caveats. It all depends on the phone model you're trading in, the wireless plan you have and the financing.

The iPhone 13 models are now available (already backordered, in some cases). To help you avoid having to comb through the fine print, we've outlined the key details on the three carriers' respective trade-in offers.

Note: These deals don't include taxes in their prices, which are often based on the full price of the phone. Some carriers may also charge a one-time activation or upgrade fee (usually around $30) as well.

It is also worth noting that T-Mobile has added a new Magenta Max iPhone upgrade program it calls Forever Upgrade that will guarantee you "up to $800" back (up to $700 for the Mini, or less if you're buying an iPhone 12 today) in future trade-in credits.

The catch here: You will need to wait two years to trade in the iPhone 13 or iPhone 12 that you're buying today to get the credits, and you will need to be on Magenta Max for the entire time.

Those with other T-Mobile plans can get up to $500 off, but you will need to trade in an iPhone 11 Pro or 11 Pro Max, or an iPhone 12 Pro or 12 Pro Max to get that discount. Those with older devices can get up to $400 offer, with full details available by clicking on the "On us with Magenta Max with trade" link on T-Mobile's product pages.

Read more:The best iPhone 13 deals are here: Target, Best Buy, Verizon and more

Stay up-to-date on the latest news, reviews and advice on iPhones, iPads, Macs, services and software.

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Buy a 'free' iPhone 13 with trade-in: Everything to know about Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T's deals - CNET

The best free video editing software – Creative Bloq

The best free video editing software is often a good way to test the waters if you're considering getting into videography, or if you want to make simple edits to personal video projects. Free video editing software can't match the power and features offered by the best paid-for software, but if you don't have the budget for that, or you're not ready to commit, free options can get you some of the way there.

There's a wide range of free video editing software available now. Many programs are offered free as a promotion or trial for the full paid version (See all the paid-for options in our best video editing software post). Others are completely free forever, but note that some of these come with a lot of ads or put a watermark on your work.

We've weighed up the pros and cons of the best options around to make it easier to choose which suits your needs. Below you'll find direct links to the best paid for video editing software that offers free trials, and below that our pick of the best free forever video editing software. We've looked for options with powerful features like stylised filters and transitions, layer-based editing, and even audio editing. It's hard to find free software that offers all of that in one package, but some come very close. Make sure you also check out our best video editing apps, many of which are free or at least very cheap.

One of the best ways to get free video editing software to dip your toes is through free trials. This way you get powerful fully featured software free for a limited time.

These are your best options if you're looking for video editing software that's completely free forever, but note that they can't compete with the paid for options above in terms of power and features.

01. Lightworks

The best free video editing software overall

Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux

Key features: Multicam editing, Customizable UI

Best for: Advanced users

Watermarks: No

+Real-time project sharing+Import and export videos in the background+Multicam video editing

-Complex user interface-Free version only renders videos in MPEG format

Lightworks is a free video editor with a drag-and-drop user interface. It boasts powerful features like multicam and multi-track video editing, which allows you to edit clips from multiple cameras into a single project. It also enables you to share projects with other users and collaborate with them while editing videos in real time.

In addition, Lightworks lets you import and export videos in the background while continuing to work on something else in the foreground, which is a useful feature for those who like multitasking. A pro version of the software comes with more features, such as direct social media sharing and the ability to export videos in different formats.

One of the softwares biggest strengths is that the user interface is highly customisable, but this is also actually its biggest shortcoming because dragging windows across the interface to create endless layout combinations can be rather confusing for beginners. Thankfully, there are extensive video tutorials to help out. Read our Lightworks review for more.

02. KineMaster

The best free video editing software for mobile

Platform: Android, iOS

Key features: Instant preview, smart effects

Best for: Beginners and lightweight pro use

Watermarks: Yes

+Surprisingly rich features+Good enough for professionals+Widely used and popular

-Slow on lower-end devices

If you think professional video editing on your smartphone or tablet requires paid-for software, think again. KineMaster is available for Android devices, iPhones and iPads, and goes far above and beyond what you'd expect from a free mobile app.

It has a smart, intuitive and lag-free interface, while features include the ability to edit multiple layers and add handwriting and text annotations. You can experiment with up to four audio tracks, and precisely edit at the frame and sub-frame level.

The catch? Yep, you'll get watermarks on your videos. To remove them, you'll need to subscribe to the premium version, but that costs a pretty reasonable $4.99/month or $39.99/year. See our Kinemaster review for more details.

03. OpenShot

The best free video editing software that's open source

Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux

Key features: Layer-based editing, drag and drop UI

Best for: Open-source lovers

Watermarks: No

+Simple, drag-and-drop interface+Free and open source+Unlimited layers

-Occasional lagging, slow response-Bugs and glitches

OpenShot is a solid basic video editor with some nice extra features. It has a minimalistic design with a drag-and-drop interface that's easy to used, even for newbies. While there isn't a lot of complex features, the software's completely free and open-source, so there are none of the usual ads, watermarks, or paid upgrades to frustrate you.

Layer-based video editing capabilities let you stack an unlimited number of layers in your video, be it soundtracks, overlapping videos, or custom images.OpenShot also offers a range of title-card templates that can be customised. In addition, there are all the usual options to adjust and enhance your video, including crop, trim, rotate, and resize. You can also adjust elements like brightness, contrast, colour grading, and gamma.

There are some problems, including not insignificant lag issues and the fact that the features dont always work the way theyre supposed to (or when they do work, they take a long time to apply, making the editing process frustrating). Ultimately, however, for free video editing software, Openshot has everything you could expect.

04. DaVinci Resolve

The best free video editing software for colour correction

Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux

Key features: Colour correction, audio tools, compatible with Fairlight consoles, multi-user collaboration

Best for: Professionals and enthusiasts

Watermarks: No

+Colour correction+Audio post production+Collaborative working

-More suited to finishing footage

DaVinci Resolve is a free video editing tool that offers professional 8K editing, colour correction, visual effects, and audio post-production all in one place. It's often used on big-budget film and TV productions thanks to its powerful colour correction and audio capabilities.

As well as traditional colour features such as curve editors and primary colour wheels, there's also facial recognition and tracking, so you can adjust skin tones, eye and lip colour. For audio, DaVinci Resolve uses Fairlight, a suite of high-end editing tools that enable you to mix and master up to 1,000 channels.

Its incredible really that this software offers a free version with nearly all of its features present. There are no watermarks added to your videos either, unless you use a non-free effect such as noise reduction. So if youre looking for the best free video editing software for Windows or Mac, this could well be your best bet. To learn more, see our Da Vinci Resolve review.

05. VideoPad

The best free video editing software for audio professionals

Platform: Windows

Key features: 3D editing, Unlimited audio tracks

Best for: Audio professionals, 3D video editors

Watermarks: No

+Sound mixing+3D video editing+Excellent shareability

-Lacks advanced features-Slideshow-making isn't free

VideoPad is a free video editor with a simple interface suitable for novices but also plenty of features for advanced users. Most importantly, however, it offers a level of control over audio thats not often seen in a video editor, making it a great choice for movie sequences that rely on audio effects.

It supports an unlimited number of audio tracks and provides an entire library of sound effects to play with. Overall, it's not as robust as Lightworks, but VideoPad really stands out from competitors thanks to its audio editing features and sound mixing functionalities all without the price tag of a professional video editor.

VideoPad also allows 3D video editing, a rare feature among free video editing tools. It also has great options for social sharing, with a library of social media-friendly effects and transitions and the option to post videos to platforms like Facebook or YouTube without leaving the software.

06. Windows Video Editor

Built-in video editing software for Windows

Platform: Windows 10

Key features: Custom animations, Simplified UI

Best for: Windows 10 users

Watermarks: No

Paid version: NA

+Simple and easy to use+Pre-existing collection of custom animations

-Very basic, barebones video editor

If you have a PC running Windows, you'll already have Microsofts own built-in video editor, Windows Video Editor. What used to be called Windows Movie Maker was rebuilt from the ground up for Windows 10. It's not a massively powerful editor, but if you're looking for a quick, convenient way to make simple edits to your clips, it might serve you just fine.

It doesnt boast a lot of features in fact, it's really more of a photo editor with some video editing capabilities but Video Editor has enough to get through basic tasks like trimming, cropping, speed adjustments and adding text or audio.It also has a 3D Effects section, which lets you soup up your video with pre-designed animations. These features dont offer a lot of options for customisation, but Windows Video Editor is still a good application for basic video enhancement, especially for novice users looking who enjoy working in Windows. Its biggest advantage is how easy it is to use.

07. VSDC

Free video editing software that's great for presentations

Platform: Windows

Key features: Supports wide range of file formats, built-in DVD burner, chart tool, video stabiliser

Best for: Enthusiasts and beginners

Watermarks: No

+Plenty of special effects+Large range of output formats+Works well with GoPro footage

-More suited to presentations

If you need to add text, lines, charts and other special effects to a presentation (and you use Windows), VSDC is probably the best free video editing software for the task. It has Instagram-style filters, lots of special effects such as colour correction and blurring, plus a mask tool for applying effects to part of a video (for obscuring faces, for example). Theres also a video stabiliser to help remove camera shake from footage taken with GoPros or drones, and a powerful chart tool for adding graphs to presentations.

The free version can export to various formats including AVI and MPG, and it supports most video formats, so you shouldnt have any trouble importing clips. You can even tailor the output so it works well on particular devices for playback, and theres a built-in DVD burner. The paid-for pro version adds in features such as motion tracking, masking, and hardware acceleration. Read our VSDC review to find out more.

08. Hitfilm Express

Free video editing software that's rich in features and add-ons.

Platform: Windows, Mac

Key features: Over 180 visual effects; 2D and 3D effects compositing; MP4 H.264 export; good range of import formats

Best for: Professionals and enthusiasts

Watermarks: No

+Great community and training+3D compositing

-Tricky download process-Powerful computer required

Hitfilm Express is the Swiss Army knife of free video editing software. It's capable of producing feature films or music videos with 3D effects, but its also good for making YouTube videos (it has direct uploading built in).It features a lot of features you'd expect to find only in expensive paid-for software, including 4K video support, 360-degree editing, and hundreds of special effects.

The main downside is that it uses a lot of system resources, so it won't work well on a low-powered laptop, for example. The basic version contains everything you need to make a professional-quality production, but if you want something specific, such as 360-degree text or extra colour grading tools, there are packs of add-on features that start at around $7/6. For more information, see our Hitfilm Express review.

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The best free video editing software - Creative Bloq