This year the tech world buzzed about iPad Mini and Microsoft Surface, Android vs. iPhone, PlayStation 4 vs. Xbox One, smart watches and fitness bands, Google Glass and Chromecast. Newsworthy gadgets all, but their sleek screens and circuits are nothing without the software that operates, connects, and protects the devices, not to mention makes them more fun and useful.

But you already know that, because you good guests of our site have downloaded more than 700 million apps in 2013. That would be double the worldwide gross of "Gravity," if downloads were dollars, and it's more than two times the number of people who watched freaky Norwegians ask "What Does the Fox Say?" and seven times the viewership of Super Bowl XLVII.

So, what had you downloading in droves? Everyone's looking for virus protection and media management. For Windows fans, the keys were security and utilities, while Mac heads were minding their music and graphics. Our most popular app for 2013, Avast Free Antivirus, had more than 53 million downloads for Windows and nearly 1 million for Mac. <... [Read more]