After a brief vacation, it’s time for another software roundup to catch up on the biggest and best releases from the last week. We’ll start by taking a look at some of the apps that have been release for mobile device. Facebook for iOS 5.0 is a release largely concerned with improving the performance of the app with news load times being improved and a new tappable banner making it possible to load new posts without the need to refresh. Android users have Facebook for Android 1.9.8 which now includes the ability to create events and allows for faster sharing of photos. Skype for iPhone 4.1 adds the option to send and receive photos and fixes a range of known bugs, while  Norton Mobile Utilities 2.0 provides Android users with a wealth of useful information about their devices include tracking data usage.

There have been a number of update to Chrome, starting with Google Chrome for iOS 21.0.1180.77 which benefits from the added ability to share content5 via social networks and various problem fixes. There have also been changes made to the desktop version of Google’s web browser. Chrome 22 is the last version to enter the beta channel and includes various Windows 8 specific enhancements, while Chrome 23  has entered the Dev channel. On the subject of web browsers, BrowsingHistoryView 1.00 enables you to view the browsing history of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Safari in one place.

AVG Secure Search

Moving on the most regularly active software genres, security, Kaspersky Internet Security 2013 FINAL is the latest protection  tool from Kaspersky and this version that benefits from improved spam filtering, faster updating, a firewall and other enhancements. Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013 FINAL is also available as a standalone product. One of the biggest dangers of using the web is accidentally visiting malicious web site, but with AVG Secure Search 1.18.0.2679 installed you can check the safety of sites before you visit them. If you have decided to switch security tools and are having trouble removing traces of avast! from your hard drive, look no further than avast! Cleanup Tool 1.0.

AIDA64

Long-time favorite cleanup tool, CCleaner 3.22 has been updated with full support for Windows 8 and a range of other minor improvements, while IObit Advanced SystemCare 6 Beta 2.0 is the latest tweaking and optimization tool that now includes Quick Settings for easier access and a host of enhancements that improve the overall performance and usability of the program. For anyone looking to learn more about their computer, AIDA64 2.60.2100 provides a wealth of hardware details as well as benchmarking tools and the latest version includes support for even more hardware devices. Many people are looking forward to the release of Office 2013, but Apache OpenOffice 3.4.1 is decent free alternative.

VirtualBox

If you’re looking to try out Windows 8, or need access to another operating system on your computer, virtualization could well be the way ahead. VMware Player 5.0 boasts a number of interface improvements as well as virtual hardware improvements, and Windows 8 support is one of the big new features to be found in VMware Workstation 9. Mac users can gain access to many of the same features in VMware Fusion 5. An alternative virtualization tool is available in the form of VirtualBox 4.1.20 and the latest version is largely a bug-fixing release which you can further enhanced by installing VirtualBox Extension Pack 4.1.20. One thing that has annoyed people trying out Windows 8 is the fact that the new interface is forced upon you. Skip Metro Suite 1.0.0 is a free tool that enables you to skip straight to the desktop.

Audacity

To end this week’s roundup are a number of multimedia tools, starting with Audacity 2.0.2 which includes everything you need to perform basic and more advanced audio editing. If image editing is more up your street, GIMP 2.8.2 FINAL is another bug bashing release for this powerful free image editor, and jAlbum 10.9 provides you with everything you need to show off your image in an online album. Dowwnloading videos from the likes of YouTube can be tricky, but it is simplified by Freemake Video Downloader 3.1.0, with the latest version adding new options such as the ability to limit download speed and more. Finally for this week, Free Studio 5.7.1 includes not only this tool but also a selection of audio and video converting utilities.

That’s it for this week; join us again in another seven days for the next roundup.