I thought a beneficial topic to everyone, would be a list of freeware programs, that you can use instead of a commercial one. Feel free to suggest programs that should be added to the list. Please, only suggest programs that are known to be free of spyware or other malware.

Antivirus Applications

• Antivir
• AOL VirusScan Plus - free AOL Antivirus, Spyware, and Firewall, provided by McAfee. (valid AOL E-mail address required for free version) - Windows 2000/XP/Vista
• Avast Free
• AVG Free - at the bottom of the page.
• Bitdefender Free

Free Online Virus/Trojan/Spyware Scanners

• aumha.org - Internet Explorer (IE) parasite scan
• BitDefender - virus scanner
• CastleCops - several scans under "Tool Kit', on the right, about halfway down the page
• eTrust - Virus scanner - WhyBeNormal
• F-Secure - virus scanner
• HouseCall - virus scanner
• HouseCall - Europe - virus scanner - Does not require the use of ActiveX controls. Uses Java instead. - joe53
• Jotti's scan - submit files to be scanned by multiple (15) scanners
• kephyr.com - PopUp Killer Test
• McAfee - virus, security and Wi-Fi scanners, under "Free Services"
• PC Pitstop - several scans, on the left, under "Tests and Scans"
• SpywareGuide - spyware scanner, on the right
• SpywareInfo - spyware scanner, on the left, under "Site Navigation"
• Symantec.com - virus & security scanners
• Virustotal - submit suspicious files to be scanned by multiple (22) Antivirus/Spyware scanners - SifuMike
• Webroot Spy Audit - Spyware scanner. It will not remove or modify any files. - WhyBeNormal
• WindowSecurity - trojan scanner

Spyware Removal - You may also want to read this topic, Simple steps to keep your computer secure!

• a² Free - a complementary product to antivirus software which is specialized in protection against harmful software. Antivirus software often features an inadequate protection against Trojans, Dialers and Spyware. a² fills this gap." - tg911
• Ad-Aware - Tutorial: Using Ad-Aware - Windows Vista (32-bit), Windows XP (Home and Pro), Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000 (Pro and Server)
• Comodo BOClean - removes malware and registry entries, doesn't require a reboot to remove all traces, daily malware database updates, optional rollback of update to an earlier version, sweeps and detects INSTANTLY in the background, etc. - boopme
• IE-Spyad - Tutorial: Using IE-Spyad
• Spybot - Search & Destroy - Tutorial: Using Spybot S&D
• Spywareblaster - prevents spyware from being installed on your PC. - Tutorial: Using SpywareBlaster
• Spywareguard - provides a real-time protection solution against spyware that is a great addition to SpywareBlaster's protection method. - Tutorial: Using SpywareGuard
• Spyware Terminator - Effectively remove spyware, adware, trojans, keyloggers, home page hijackers and other malware threats. Real-Time Protection is included in the basic version. - nigglesnush85
• SuperAntiSpyware - link to a direct download of the Free version
• WinPatrol - "WinPatrol uses a heuristic approach to detecting attacks and violations of your computing environment. Traditional security programs scan your hard drive searching for previously identified threats. WinPatrol takes snapshot of your critical system resources and alerts you to any changes that may occur without your knowledge." - joe53

Specific Virus Removal Tools - if you know what Virus you have, try here.

• AVG
• BitDefender
• McAfee
• Panda
• Symantec

Firewalls

• Comodo Firewall - boopme
• Jetico Personal Firewall - acklan
• Outpost Firewall Free
• Sunbelt Personal Firewall
• Sygate Free
• ZoneAlarm Free

PC Security

• Active@ KillDisk - powerful and compact DOS software that allows you to destroy all data on hard and floppy drives completely, excluding any possibility of future recovery of deleted files and folders. - acklan
• Core Control - a full featured advanced security program, designed for Windows 95, 98, and ME Operating Systems - acklan
• DeleteOnClick - completely deletes files in one click rather than sending the file to the recycle bin. The data becomes unrecoverable. For this reason you must use this program carefully. - leeanne172
• Eraser - an advanced security tool (for Windows), which allows you to completely remove sensitive data from your hard drive by overwriting it several times with carefully selected patterns. - jgweed
• EULAlyzer - can analyze license agreements in seconds, and provide a detailed listing of potentially interesting words and phrases. Discover if the software you're about to install displays pop-up ads, transmits personally identifiable information, uses unique identifiers to track you, or much much more. - Wink
• iProtectYou - allows parents to control which web sites can be visited, which programs can have Internet access, block e-mails, chat sessions and instant messages with inappropriate words, stop annoying ads, and/or restrict internet time to a predetermined schedule. - acklan
• KL-Detector- detect keylogging activity on your computer! - boopme

File Encryption

• AxCrypt - a powerful, yet extremely easy to use file encryption program. It integrates directly with Windows Explorer, enabling encryption, decryption, viewing and editing of any file with just a few clicks of the mouse.
• Cryptainer LE - A really simple to use encryption tool that creates an invisible, password protected folder on your hard drive or other media. Free version limited to 25MB. "Cryptainer LE's encryption works with all 32 bit versions of Microsoft Windows (95/98/ME/2000/XP/2003 Server) and with all known file types." - Rimmer
• PowerCrypt - a powerful file encoder. Make sure your files are protected with a 100% secure encryption algorithm, which is not resolveable by NSA nor CIA.
• True Crypt - disk encryption software for Windows XP/2000/2003 and Linux. A, more powerful version of Cryptainer. As a user of both, I recommend TrueCrypt over Cryptainer by a long shot. No stupid limits on how big you can have the drive, as well, so you could encrypt your whole drive if you wanted to - ØÇë¦òT

Hard Drive & System Utilites

• Auslogics Disk Defrag - designed for fast optimization of today's modern hard disks. - Yourhighness
• BootSafe - a program (doesn't require installation) that sits on your desktop. Double click on it, select one of the 3 Safe Mode options, and click on Reboot. - usasma
• Drive Manager - has been written to help you easily identify drives which are of the same type. - fleamailman
• driveSMART EWT - a Early Warning and Tracking Systems which tracks the status of the computer hard disks, timely detecting, and anticipating any problems occurring with the disk, before the danger of the data loss appears. - Windows 95b/98/ME/2000 Pro & Server/NT 4.0 Workstation & Server/XP/2003 Server__MAC OS X 10.2 & 10.3 - BlackSpyder
• DShutdown- a stand-alone program that allows you to easily shutdown and wake up local or remote PCs, with many specific options. - acklan
• DTaskManager - a Task-Manager, but specifically engineered to give additional functionalities that the Windows bundled TaskManager (and other third party products) do not have. - scratcher
• ERUNT - registry backup tool - rowal5555
• GParted - an industrial-strength package for creating, destroying, resizing, moving, checking and copying partitions, and the filesystems on them. This is useful for creating space for new operating systems, reorganizing disk usage, copying data residing on hard disks and mirroring one partition with another (disk imaging). - fozzie
• HDDScan - a freeware program for low-level HDD diagnostics. Supports IDE/SATA/SCSI hard disk drives, RAID arrays, external USB/Firewire hard disks, flash cards. - Stidyup
• HDTune - a good piece of software for testing the HD in the PC. Gives good analysis of the drives sector issues. - projectfocus
• JkDefrag - disk defragment and optimization utility for Windows 2000/2003/XP/Vista/X64 - Shaba
• Memtest86 - a thorough, stand alone memory test for x86 architecture computers. - boopme
• MicroSoft's Memory Test - tests the Random Access Memory (RAM) on your computer for errors. - acklan
• PC INSPECTOR - a data recovery program that supports the FAT 12/16/32 and NTFS file systems. - usasma
• Power off 3 - a small program that allows you to control the power state of your pc. - Yourhighness
• Process Explorer - shows you information about which handles and DLLs processes have opened or loaded. - Ronbo
• ProcessLibrary - Gain insight on any process through easy and quick search feature that queries over 9000 entries in processlibrary.com database directly - Windows 2000/2003/XP - nigglesnush85
• Quick Access InfoBar - Get the latest definitions and exhaustive advice on all the processes running in the Windows Task Manager. - Quick Access InfoBar
• Ranish Partition Manager - Partition resizer, create, manager similar to Partition Magic but free!
• SpeeDefrag - a program, which restarts your computer and runs only defrag.exe with optimized windows settings. - acklan
• Swissknife - can create, delete and format partitions on your hard disk drives. Supports Internal interfaces such as IDE and SCSI and External interfaces such as Hi-Speed USB, Parallel port, PCMCIA, USB On-The-Go, Firewire®, SATA interfaces etc. Creates Fixed and Removable Disk Format types. - Windows 98/XP/Mac OS/Linux - BlackSpyder
• SyncBack Freeware - backup and synchronization software - usasma
• Unknown Device Identifier - Identify unknown devices not recognized by Windows in your system especially after you reinstall your system and cannot figure out what all those yellow question mark labeled devices really are. - acklan
• Vision - Reports all open TCP and UDP ports and maps them to the owning process or application. - usasma
• WinDriversBackup Personal Edition 1.0.9 (last freeware version) - for backing up your Windows system driver files. It can also scan for, and back up, third party non-Microsoft drivers. - mommabear

System Information

• Belarc Advisor - builds a detailed profile of your installed software and hardware, including Microsoft Hotfixes, and displays the results in your Web browser. - Ronbo
• CoolMon 2 - a program for monitoring vital system stats and almost anything else you wish to display on the desktop. - nosnhoj#3
• CPU-Z - gathers information on some of the main devices of your system; CPU, Mainboard, Memory, and System. - Rimmer
• Double Driver - you can view which drivers are installed in your system and you can backup the drivers you choose, save and print the drivers list, and more. - Yourhighness
• EVEREST Home Edition - a freeware system information, system diagnostics and benchmarking solution for home PC users. Similar to Belarc, but much more comprehensive. - Herk
• SIW - This program performs computer configuration, analysis, and diagnostics. (Similar to Everest)
• SpeedFan - monitors voltages, fan speeds and temperatures in computers with hardware monitor chips. - usasma
• System Spec - lets you can see, save and print a complete spec of your PC with this no-install, system information utility and perform various windows functions. Additional advanced info includes CPU, drives, apps, display, memory and more. - John_McKenna
• What's Running - a product that gives you an inside look into your Windows 2000/XP/2003 system. Explore processes, services, modules, IP-connections, drivers and much more. - rowal5555
• WinAudit - a self-contained (no setup required) PC audit, and inventory of software, licenses, security configuration, hardware, network settings... - usasma

File Compression and Archiving

• 7-Zip - a file archiver with high compression ratio. - nosnhoj#3
• ExtractNow - will let you extract multiple archives with the ease of a single click. - acklan
• FilZip - an archiving utility (zip tool) that can open various archive types. It offers Windows integration, drag and drop, encryption, multi-extract and more. - leeanne172
• IZArc - File compression utility that supports most standard compression formats.
• WinRAR - click on the downloads tab and download the trial version (not the beta). You can use the full functionality forever. - Lanscader
• ZipGenius - A nice archiving tool. It handles zip, rar and many others. - Storm Rider

File/Folder Utilities

• Cobian Backup - a multi-threaded program that can be used to schedule and backup your files and directories from their original location to other directories/drives in the same computer or other computer in your network. - usasma
• Delete Doctor - Delete files that are difficult to delete, such as some files left by viruses and trojans, or files with corrupted file names.
• Digital Dolly - hard-disk-partition, image, and cloning software that runs completely from a bootable CD-ROM. - acklan
• HostsMan - a hosts file manager and editor - Yourhighness
• LupasRename 2000 - rename files quickly (Will run on USB Drive) - turbines
• MDI Viewer - allows you to view .MDI files - sitalchauhan
• Norton Ghost 2003 - imaging utility for your hard drive(s). - usasma
• ReNamer - a small, yet very flexible file renaming tool, that offers all the standard renaming procedures, including prefixes, suffixes, replacements, case changes, as well as remove contents of brackets, add number sequences, change file extensions, etc. - Walkman
• SequoiaView - an excellent utility to help you figure out what is taking up so much space on your hard drive. - ddeerrff
• Snap Backup - The One-Click Backup Utility that makes it simple to protect your important work. - acklan
• Unlocker - Remove, hard to Delete, files and folders.
• WinDirStat - a disk usage statistics viewer and cleanup tool for Microsoft Windows - Windows 95/98SE/ME/NT4(SP5)/2000/XP/Server 2003 - nigglesnush85
• WinMerge - a visual text file differencing and merging tool for Win32 platforms. It is highly useful for determining what has changed between project versions, and then merging changes between versions. - Walkman

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Utilities

• 3DMark03 Free Version - a benchmarking proooogram that includes a collection of 3D tests, a set of CPU tests, feature tests, image quality tests, and sound tests. - BlackSpyder
• 8start Launcher - a portable application launcher. - Yourhighness
• Calc 98 - Scientic Calulator and Conversion Tool (Will run on USB Drive) - turbines
• Convert - an easy to use unit conversion program that will convert the most popular units of distance, temperature, volume, time, speed, mass, power, density, pressure, energy and many others, including the ability to create custom conversions. - Ronbo
• Digital Post-It - replaces all those sticky yellow post-it papers that you got on your desk. - usasma
• EssentialPIM - Personal Information Manager - acklan
• Fass - a forum post editor & automated post generator. It also has a "Post Preview" feature, which shows your post as it will appear on forums. Designed for use with Invision Power Board, compatible with most forum software.
• Filebox Extender - enhances Windows by adding several advanced functions to the standard Open File and Save File dialog boxes. - Yourhighness
• HandyNotes - a small software program, that makes it easy to keep all your notes organized, in one easily accessible place. - Herk
• KeyNote - a flexible, multi-featured tabbed notebook, based on Windows standard RichEdit control.
• Launchy - indexes the programs in your start menu and can launch your documents, project files, folders, and bookmarks with just a few keystrokes. - nosnhoj#3
• LogMeIn Hamachi - a VPN service that easily sets up in 10 minutes, and enables secure remote access to your business network, anywhere there's an Internet connection - nigglesnush85
• Magical Jellybean Keyfinder - a utility that retrieves your Product Key (cd key) used to install windows from your registry. It has the options to copy the key to clipboard, save it to a text file, or print it for safekeeping. - Herk
• Microsoft Reader - allows you to read books published in the MS reader (.lit) format. - Ronbo
• MyUninstaller - Free app to remove entries from your Add/Remove Programs list.
• PCMark05 Basic Edition - PC performance benchmark program that provides an accurate and consistent assessment of the performance of your PC in general home environment usage. - BlackSpyder
• PitchPerfect Guitar Tuner - Tune your electric or Bass with your computer - BlackSpyder
• RealVNC - makes it possible to view, and fully-interact with, one computer from any other computer, or mobile device, anywhere on the Internet. - acklan
• Safarp - a small and fast alternative to the Add or Remove Programs Control Panel applet of Windows 2000/XP. Among other things, it displays a list of the installed programs, and allows one to uninstall / repair them. - scratcher
• Start++ - an enhancement for the Start Menu in Windows Vista. It also extends the Run box and the command-line with customizable commands. For example, typing "w Windows Vista" will take you to the Windows Vista page on Wikipedia. - nosnhoj#3
• Startup Inspector for Windows - helps both novice and expert user manage Windows® startup applications.
• Stickies - a PC utility to try and cut down on the number of Post-It® notes stuck to your monitor. It is a computerised version of those notes. - Animal
• Sun's Solaris 10- a free Operating System - acklan
• Taskbar Repair Tool Plus! - allows you to Repair and Customize the Quick Launch, Taskbar and Notification Area in Windows XP. - Ronbo
• Tidy Start Menu - allows you to arrange all the shortcuts in the Start Menu. Your Start Menu looks neat, and you can easily and quickly find any program you want. - rowal5555
• Total Uninstall - can help you to monitor any changes that were made to your system during installation of a new software product and allow you to perform a complete uninstall without having to rely on the supplied uninstall program (which may leave files or changes behind).(last freeware version) - usasma
• TweakVI - was designed for easy tweaking an optimizing a Windows Vista based computer. - nosnhoj#3
• TweakUI - This PowerToy gives you access to system settings that are not exposed in the Windows XP default user interface, including mouse settings, Explorer settings, taskbar settings, and more. - Ronbo
• Uninstall Tool - (Last Free Version) a small and fast utility that helps you to uninstall various software. It can be used instead of the standard unconvenient and heavy "Add and Remove Programs". - mommabear
• WinKey - create keyboard shortcuts to access your favorite programs, documents, and files. Once you've made a shortcut, simply press your desired key combination to launch your program. This tool supports up to 200 key assignments. - nosnhoj#3

Networking

• Fiddler - a HTTP Debugging Proxy which logs all HTTP traffic between your computer and the Internet. Fiddler allows you to inspect all HTTP Traffic, set breakpoints, and "fiddle" with incoming or outgoing data. - usasma
• Netstat Live - a small, easy to use TCP/IP protocol monitor which can be used to see your exact throughput on both incoming and outgoing data - whether you're using a modem, cable modem, DSL, or even local network. Will also graph the CPU usage of your system. - Herk
• No-IP - Use to map a static or dynamic IP address, or long URL, to an easy to remember subdomain, such as yourname.no-ip.com. - turbines
• PingPlotter - a high performance, low-overhead traceroute application. - turbines
• Wireshark - a network protocol analyzer (packet sniffer)

Web Browsers

• Avant Browser - based on the Internet Explorer browser engine. - nosnhoj#3
• Firefox - a highly customizable web browser, with tabbed browsing - JEservices
• K-Meleon - an extremely fast, customizable, lightweight web browser for the Win32 (Windows) platform based on the Gecko layout engine (the rendering engine of Mozilla) - saint satin stain
• Maxthon Internet Browser - tabbed browser with a highly customizable interface. It is based on the Internet Explorer browser engine. - wng_z3r0
• OffByOne - Incorporates a tabbed browsing, and does not require any installation. If you're looking for a fast browser, with minimal features, this is it. - acklan
• SeaMonkey - Web-browser, advanced e-mail and newsgroup client, IRC chat client, and HTML editing made simple -- all your Internet needs in one application. - ddeerrff
• Netscape - Includes a browser, email client, and html composer - Bizrus
• Opera - JEservices

Web Browsing Utilities

• AM-DeadLink - detects dead links and duplicates in your Browser Bookmarks. Checks Bookmarks from Internet Explorer, Opera, Mozilla and Netscape. - Ronbo
• CleanUp! - a powerful and easy-to-use application that removes temporary files created while surfing the web, empties the Recycle Bin, deletes files from your temporary folders and more. - WhyBeNormal
• Clipboard Buddy - a clipboard cache program that remembers what was copied to the clipboard even after new data is copied, and allows you to retrieve the old data. - rowal5555
• Convert & Open - automatically repairs bad links. No more copy and pasting of incorrect/invalid URLs. - leeanne172
• CookieWall - allows you to quickly and easily decide which cookies can stay on your system, and which cookies should go - once you let CookieWall know which ones are unwelcome, it does the rest. (Internet Explorer only) - Jacee
• Extract URL - extract URLs with title, description, keywords meta data from entire websites, list of URLs, or search engine results. - acklan
• Hitware Popup Killer Lite - an intelligent popup killer for Internet Explorer (5 and up), that runs in the system tray and quietly eliminates most pop-up and pop-under ads before they appear. - idk
• HTTrack - allows you to download a World Wide Web site from the Internet to a local directory, building recursively all directories, getting HTML, images, and other files from the server to your computer. - nosnhoj#3
• KeyScrambler - a web browser plugin that encrypts your keystrokes to protect your important personal information from keyloggers. - Jacee
• McAfee SiteAdvisor - (for IE and Firefox) installs a small button that changes colors as you browse the Web based on the results of their safety tests. You can also click on the button's menu to see the site's detailed test results. - nosnhoj#3
• Netcraft Toolbar - Anti-phishing toolbar. It works well with Firefox in Vista - and with one minor glitch (in the updater) with IE7 in Vista (I just close the updater and it runs just fine). - usasma
• PeerGuardian 2 - IP blocker for Windows. - Walkman
• Pow - trainable, popup blocker for Internet Explorer. - Herk
• Smart Popup Blocker - intelligently block pop-up ads and messenger pop-up spam, and speed Internet Explorer by optimizing settings. It also cleans cookies and guards your default Internet Explorer home page. - idk
• Tor - can help you anonymize web browsing and publishing, instant messaging, IRC, SSH, and other applications that use the TCP protocol - Walkman
• Xenu - checks Web sites for broken links. - Yourhighness

Password Managers/Generators

• KeePass - an open-source password manager, or safe, which helps you to manage your passwords in a secure way. - turbines
• KeyWallet - a browser independent Password Manager which encrypts your data, and supports skins - TerryK
• Oubliette - password database, and generator, that stores a list of accounts with information such as account name, associated password, URL, and free-form notes. Oubliette offers a number of ways to transfer account names and passwords to the browser: via the clipboard, through drag-and-drop, or by automated form filling.
• Password Corral - password generator, and organizer, with several additional features - Yourhighness
• Password Safe - a tool that allows you to have a different password for all the different programs and websites that you deal with, without actually having to remember all those usernames and passwords - Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP - saint satin stain
• Password Scrambler - a browser add-on that allows you to automatically generate secure, hard-to-guess passwords for every site you visit, based on a master password of your choice. - Jacee
• Whisper 32 - a very easy-to-use Password Manager for Windows. - turbines

Spell Checker & Dictionary

• Aspell - can either be used as a library or as an independent spell checker. - Ross Zip
• IESpell - A spelling checker for Internet Explorer. Works like the spell checker in M$ Office, right click and select Check Spelling. - Ronbo
• Magical Jellybean Dictionary - a freeware dictionary client for Windows 9x/ME/2000/XP, that connects to a dictionary server, and retrieves the definition from a database on the server. - Herk
• tinySpell - easily and quickly check the spelling of words in any Windows application. Monitors your typing on the fly, and alerts you whenever it detects a misspelled word. It also checks the spelling of every word you copy to the clipboard. - Wink
• Word Web - a comprehensive English thesaurus and dictionary, that can be used to look up words from within most programs. - tg1911

Email Clients & Tools

• ePrompter - automatically and simultaneously checks and retrieves your e-mail messages from up to 16 password-protected e-mail accounts. It not only lets you compose, forward, and reply to your retrieved messages, but also gives you the ability to delete unwanted spam or suspicious-looking mail without having to launch your e-mail program or having to go to your Web mail's site. - nosnhoj#3
• Eudora - Free mail client but is ad sponsored. ( Eudora has a lite version available... just download the current version, and if you can live without the spellchecker, you dont have to live with the ad screen, being there. Go to the help menu, after installing, and select "payment and registration". Then select "lite mode", and it will ask if you can live without all of the extras, just click on "reduce features") - rexifelis
• FreePOPs - can be used to download mail from the most famous webmails, but it could also be used as an aggregator for RSS feeds and much more. This way it is possible to get all your messages in your favorite email client. - acklan
• K-9 - POP3 Bayesian spam filter - turbines
• OE Quick Backup - Backup Outlook Express mailboxes, settings, mail rules, etc.
• Pegasus Mail - Bizrus
• POP Peeper - an app which picks up all your incoming E-mail automatically at a user-defined interval and displays it in one screen where you can read, use links, and reply. - rowal5555
• Quicksilver - a PRIVACY software that can give you complete privacy in your email and newsgroup postings. - turbines
• SpamBayes - anti-spam filter
• Spell Checker For OE - a way to add a spell checker to OutLook Express without having to have MS Office installed. - acklan
• StripMail - Strips the characters ">" and "|" from forwarded e-mails, formats the text into paragraphs, making it easier to read, changes the text's right margin, by indenting, and can be used with any e-mail client.
• Thunderbird - Open Source email client. - Jgweed
• YPOPs! - an application that provides POP3 access to Yahoo! Mail - acklan

Office Applications

• Abiword - Free word processor that can open and edit OpenOffice, Word, Rich Text Format, HTML, Wordperfect documents, Palm, web pages and many more
• Calendar Magic - an easy-to-use program that is entertaining, informative, educational, and of equal applicability in the home - saint satin stain
• CutePDF - Create PDF Documents
• Foxit PDF Reader - You can view and print PDF documents. No installation required. - hiteckee
• Microsoft® Office Accounting Express 2007 - everything you need to make your small business idea flourish. - acklan
• Open Office - Free Microsoft Office alternative. Has the ability to open most mainstream document types and edit them. - JEservices
• Open Workbench - an alternative to Microsoft Project, that provides robust project scheduling and management functionality. - jgweed
• PagePlus SE - a great way to get into desktop publishing and easily design professional-looking documents for every occasion. - acklan
• PDF Creator - Freeware PDF creation through any Windows based program. - ColdinCbus
• PDFill PDF Writer - a PDF Writer, Printer or Converter. - hiteckee
• PDF reDirect - a full-featured alternative to PDF995 and CutePDF. It features Merging, Encryption, Optimizing, and Previewing - saint satin stain
• Rainlendar - Desktop calender for Windows, that's skinnable and able to synchronize with M$ Outlook's calender so you may see what your appointments are, without opening Outlook. - Ronbo
• RoughDraft - word processor for Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP. Although suitable for general use, it has features specifically designed for creative writing: novels, short stories, articles, plays and screenplays - saint satin stain
• Sunbird - Calendar program
• Wink - A presentation program designed to make tutorials on how to use software. Can export these tutorials in Flash, EXE, and HTML.

Chat Clients

• ChatZilla
• Easy Message - The smallest IM available (Will run on USB Drive) - turbines
• Pidgin (formerly GAIM) - a multi-protocol instant messaging (IM) client for Linux, BSD, MacOS X, and Windows. - acklan
• IceChat
• Miranda IM - an open-source multi protocol instant messenger client for Microsoft Windows. - phew
• Trillian - acklan

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Audio Applications

• Audacity - a free audio editor. - tg911
• Coolplayer - Sourceforge alternative to Winamp. - Yourhighness
• dBpowerAMP Audio Player - "dAP plays Mp3s, WMA, Ogg Vorbis, Monkeys Audio, Real Audio, Wave and Midi, and many more" - tg911
• eags on! - an easy to use ID3v1 tag editor, that offers single or batch renaming of mp3 files, based on ID3 information or custom parameters.
• foobar2000 - an advanced audio player for the Windows platform. - agitarius
• iTunes - Music Player, Organizer, Tag Editor and online store. Only works with Windows XP. - Phawgg with clarifications from Jeservices
• K-Lite Codec Pack - a collection of codecs and related tools. - nosnhoj#3
• Kristal Audio Engine - audio recorder/editor - BlackSpyder
• MediaMonkey - a music file manager that will rip CDs, convert audio files, edit ID3v1 & ID3v2 tags, automatically organize & rename files, create playlists, export playlists to m3u files, burn Audio CDs, burn MP3 (Data) CD/DVDs, play CDs, correct volume levels, create statistics & other reports, and synchronize with iPods, MP3 phones & other Portable Audio Devices. - kellydgk
• Media Player Classic - The application has the same look and feel as the old light-weight Windows Media Player 6.4, but is a completely different application which has all the options and features one might expect from a modern media player. (Media Player Classic comes bundled with Real Alternative, so if you'd like both, just get RA) - WhyBeNormal
• Mp3Decode - a real handy app to have in your Send To menu, it simply converts MP3 into WAV, quick and lightweight. - nosnhoj#3
• mp3DirectCut - a fast and extensive audio editor and recorder for MP3. - HitSquad
• MP3 Shield - can rapidly scan vast MP3 collection for corruptions and automatically detects corrupted MP3 files while being downloaded - Walkman
• QuickTime Alternative - will allow you to play QuickTime files (.mov, .qt and other extensions) without having to install the official QuickTime Player. It also supports QuickTime content that is embedded in webpages.
• Real Alternative - designed for playing RealMedia files, which normally require Real Player - WhyBeNormal
• SUPER - a Multimedia Encoder and a Multimedia Player, easy-to-use with 1 simple click - idk
• Switch Soundfile Converter - Converts sound files to many other formats (WAV, MP3, OGG, and more) - BlackSpyder
• TagMaster - lets you edit the ID3 tag in MP3 files, which contains information like the name of the artist, song, album, etc. - Bluie
• The GodFather - a multi-function audio tag editor, and organizer - sitalchauhan
• WavePad Audio Editor - audio recorder/editor - BlackSpyder
• winLAME - an encoder for several audio formats, including mp3 (MPEG Layer 3), Ogg Vorbis and more. winLAME lets you set up the encoding process with an easy-to-use wizard-style user interface. - nosnhoj#3
• WinMP3Shrink - encode or re-encode your MP3s by using the Lame encoder. - idk
• XMPlay - an audio player, supporting the OGG / MP3 / MP2 / MP1 / WMA / WAV / CDA / MO3 / IT / XM / S3M / MTM / MOD / UMX audio formats, and PLS / M3U / ASX / WAX playlists. A load more formats are also supported via plugins. - Yourhighness

Video Applications

• AVI2DVD - an All In One tool used to convert, with just few clicks, an Avi/Ogm/Mkv/Wmv/Dvd to Dvd/Svcd/Vcd. - Yourhighness
• AVIcodec - Gives the codecs needed to play the file, and where to download those codecs if they are missing on your system.
• DScaler - a piece of software that captures video, processes it, and scales it for presentation on a projector or computer monitor. - turbines
• DVD Flick - a simple but powerful DVD Authoring tool. It can take a number of video files stored on your computer and turn them into a DVD that will play back on your DVD player, Media Center or Home Cinema Set. You can add additional custom audio tracks as well as subtitles of your choice. - Yourhighness
• DVD Shrink - DVD Shrink is software to backup DVD discs
• IfoEdit - allows users to parse VOB files, remove and add video, audio and subtitle streams to VOBs, create new IFO files, create DVD images. Also basic DVD Authoring. - Walkman
• Movie Organizer - a movie collection organizer. Download movie information and images online using UPC, title, actors or MOODb ID. - Walkman
• MovieTrack - a freeware dvd database and general movie collection organizer, for Windows. - Ronbo
• PSP Video 9 - a free PSP video conversion and management application. It can convert regular PC video files (avi, mpeg, etc) into PSP video files, as well as manage/copy these PSP video files between your PC and PSP. - bilko
• Swiff Player - a standalone Flash player, that allow you to view .SWF files.
• TMPGEnc - converts .AVI file to MPEG1, the format which is used in VideoCD. Using variety of option in TMPGEnc, you can compress your video file in high quality.
• VCDGear - a tool written to effortlessly extract MPEG streams from CD images, convert VideoCD files to MPEG, correct MPEG errors, create (Super)VideoCDs and more. - Walkman
• VLC - a free cross-platform media player.
• VirtualDub - VirtualDub is a video capture/processing utility for 32-bit Windows platforms (95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP)
• Wimpy - a cross platform (Mac and PC), standalone Flash Video FLV player, which will allow you to watch your FLV, and SWF videos, from your desktop.

Graphics Design & Editing

• @icon sushi - an icon convert tool that supports the mask editor and the creation of Windows XP 32bit icons.
• Avery Design Pro Limited - Customize and print professional looking labels, cards, dividers and more in minutes. - Ronbo
• Blender - the open source software for 3D modeling, animation, rendering, post-production, interactive creation and playback.
• Dogwaffle - A program designed for creative individuals who want to get down and dirty with their pixels (Scroll to the bottom of the page for free version). - tg911
• Dup Detector - will scan pictures within a file (including subfolders) and present potential duplicates for deletion. - jgweed
• Easy Thumbnails - can resize your pictures physically either larger or smaller, or you can keep the physical size and downgrade the quality
• FastStone Image Viewer - An image browser, converter and editor that supports all major graphic formats including BMP, JPEG, JPEG 2000, GIF, PNG, PCX, TIFF, WMF, ICO and TGA. - nosnhoj#3
• FastStone Photo Resizer - An image converter / resizer intended to enable users especially digital camera owners to convert, rename, resize, crop, rotate, change color depth, add text and watermark to images in a quick and easy BATCH mode. - quietman7
• Gimp - " GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed program for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring."
• Google Picasa - Locate, edit, add effects, and share your photos - TMacK
• Google SketchUp - a deceptively simple, amazingly powerful tool for creating, viewing, and modifying 3D ideas quickly and easily. - need TOS
• Icon Snatcher - "This one can pull icons from your own files to use to customize your folders." - Ronbo
• ImageForge - Create and edit images, acquire pictures from your scanner, digital camera or other Twain-compliant device, apply special effect filters, produce your own photo albums and simple slide shows, and much more. - Poru
• Image Resizer - gives you the ability to resize an image/picture in 2 clicks, by adding the option to the Context Menu. - nosnhoj#3
• Inkscape - an Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, Freehand, CorelDraw, or Xara X using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format. A powerful and convenient drawing tool fully compliant with XML, SVG, and CSS standards. - nosnhoj#3
• IrfanView - "IrfanView is a very fast, small, compact and innovative FREEWARE (for non-commercial use) graphic viewer for Windows 9x/ME/NT/2000/XP/2003." - ColdinCbus
• Paint.NET - image and photo manipulation software designed to be used on computers that run Windows 2000, XP, Vista, or Server 2003. It supports layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools. - nosnhoj#3
• Photobie - a free image editing software with multilayer support. Photobie is customized for photo editing.
• PhotoPlus 6 - image editing software that enables you to create, manipulate and enhance photographs, bitmap graphics and web animations. (Registration Required) - cybormoron
• Picture Resizer - An easy-to-use tool for batch resizing of JPG pictures and photos. - El_Tel
• Pixia -"Pixia is the English version of a popular Japanese painting and retouch software for full color graphics. It supports mask, layer and many other editing functions." - tg911 and Ataryu
• SharpControl - Image Sharpening Utility (Will run on USB Drive) - turbines
• Terragen - a scenery generator, created with the goal of generating photorealistic landscape images and animations.
• UnFREEz - a high-speed Windows application that will take any number of images, saved as separate GIF files, and create a single animated GIF from those images.
• Xnview - you can quickly and easily view, process and convert image files. Will read more than 400 graphic file formats, and write to about 50. Will also display video formats. Also offers more advanced features such as Web page creation, contact prints, multiple conversion (format and transformation), slide shows, screen capturing and Twain support for scanners and digital cameras. - Herk

Screen Capture Applications

• Capture - a screen capture utility for Windows (and NT), which allows you to capture the active window, or the entire screen, at any color depth and resolution, and save it into a Bitmap file for editing. - Herk
• Fastone Capture 5.3 - (last freeware version) a powerful, flexible and intuitive screen-capture utility. It allows you to capture anything on the screen including windows, objects, full screen, rectangle regions, freehand-selected regions and scrolling windows/web pages, plus additional features. - HitSquad
• Gadwin Print Screen - an easy to use utility, that allows you to capture any portion of the screen, save it to a file, copy it to Windows clipboard, print it or e-mail it to a recipient of your choice. - cybormoron
• MWSnap - Screen & Window Capture (Will run on USB Drive) - turbines
• Screenhunter - screen capture tool for you to easily take screenshots. - cybormoron
• ScreenPrint32 - allows you to print, and/or capture to disk, or clipboard, the full desktop, active window, predefined area, or user selected area of the screen. - rowal5555

CD & DVD Applications

• AudioGrabber - audio CD ripper - Current Resident
• BwgBurn - a Windows XP .NET 2.0 application that can be used to burn CD-R/CD-RW/DVD-R/DVD-RW/DVD+R/DVD+RW/DVD+R DL/BD-RE. It includes the ability to burn both data disk, audio disk and video disk (include VCD and DVDs) - twardnw
• CDBurnerXPPro - can burn CD-R, CD-RW DVD+R/RW DVD-R/RW discs - Yourhighness
• CDex - a CD ripper and converter for Windows - tg1911
• Deep Burner - "A CD/DVD burning software that lets you create Data Cds, Bootable CDs, and Audio CDs as well as data DVDs. In addition, it lets you burn ISO files, and create ISO images. Also lets you design an auto start menu to launch documents or programs from the CD" - tg911
• DeepRipper - can convert music files from AudioCDs into practically any format you'd like, including: MP3, WAV, OGG, and others.
• Exact Audio Copy - CD ripper - rms4evr
• Express Rip - rips CDs to wav or mp3 - BlackSpyder
• InfraRecorder - CD/DVD burning software that will create data, audio and mixed-mode projects and record them to physical discs as well as disc images. Will also burn dual-layer DVDs, and image files. - Yourhighness
• ISO Recorder - a tool (power toy) for Windows XP, 2003 and now Windows Vista, that allows (depending on the Windows version) to burn CD and DVD images (DVD support is only available on Windows Vista), copy disks, make images of the existing data CDs and DVDs and create ISO images from a content of a disk folder. - usasma

Windows Desktop Customization

• AJScreenSaver Clocks - a collection of various clock screensavers - acklan
• BootSkin - "These two are the full version and never expire, but are unsupported by the company. The bootskin will not work on every computer, from their literature; "Some drivers and bios makers "break the rules" which can cause BootSkin to not work correctly. If you experience that, you can try these alternative versions:" Unfortunately my HP was one of the ones that broke the rules so I don't know how this one works, but I can vouch for the rest." Information contributed by Ronbo
• CursorXP - Limited functionality but never expires. - Ronbo
• exalead one:desktop - a desktop search utility that's fast, intuitive, and you don't have to have it running all the time for it to be effective - saint satin stain
• FlyakiteOSX - a transformation pack that will transform the look of a Windows XP system, to resemble the look of Mac OSX - Ross Zip
• Iconoid - Iconoid is a small program that helps reduce the clutter and confusion of the Windows desktop. - tg911
• Logon Studio - Never expires - Ronbo
• ObjectDock - Limited functionality but never expires. - Ronbo
• Picture and Sound Show - a 32-bit screen saver for Windows that enables you to create your own slide shows from pictures and sounds on your computer. - Floydoid
• WindowsBlinds - Limited functionality but never expires. - Ronbo

Website Creation

• CSS Tab Designer - a unique and easy to use software to help you design css-based lists and tabs visually and without any programming knowledge required. - nosnhoj#3
• Internet Explorer Developer Toolbar - provides a variety of tools for quickly creating, understanding, and troubleshooting Web pages. - nosnhoj#3
• Jalbum - "This one is pretty cool for making photo layouts for your website." - Ronbo
• Netdrive - integrates your Website as a drive into your Windows Explorer, so you can easily copy and paste all sorts of files, straight to your website. Only supports Windows NT, Windows 2000 or Windows XP. - Yourhighness
• Nvu - a complete Web Authoring System for Linux desktop users as well as Microsoft Windows and Macintosh users to rival programs like FrontPage and Dreamweaver - saint satin stain
• Picture-Shark - a tool to add logo watermarks to your pictures in order to brand them or display copyright information. A stamp can be any GIF, JPEG or BMP image and it can be positioned anywhere on the image and previewed from the interface. You can also specify a transparency level, in order to blend the watermark with the image.
• Porta - allows you to create attractive image galleries from your digital photos in just a few easy steps.
• SiteGenWiz - Site Creation Program. - Ronbo
• WindowSizer - Sets a given window to an exact size in pixels. Useful for web developers who want to see what their site will look like at various resolutions. - nosnhoj#3

HTML & CSS Editors

• 1st Page 2000 - HTML Editor - Bizrus
• HTML- Kit - HTML Editor
• Notepad++ - a free source code editor which supports several programming languages running under the MS Windows environment. - nosnhoj#3
• NoteTab Light - a Notepad replacement and handy HTML editor. Handle a heap of files with a simple tabbed interface. Search files, strip HTML tags and format text quickly. Build libraries of text macros to speed up your work. - acklan
• NVU - WYSIWYG HTML Editor
• Selida - HTML/WYSIWYG Editor - tg911
• Sothink HTML Editor - HTML Editor (Can only edit one page at a time) - Bizrus
• Topstyle Lite - CSS Editor

File Transfer Programs

• BlazeFTP - FTP Client
• FileZilla Client & Server - FTP Client and Server
• FTP Surfer - FTP client - acklan
• Leech FTP - FTP client - acklan
• SmartFTP - FTP Client
• WinSCP - A secure FTP Program and Secure Copy Program for use with SSH

Programming Languages & IDE/Editors

• Bloodshed Dev-C++ - An excellent C/C++ IDE
• BlueJ - developed at a University specifically for the purpose of teaching object orientation with Java. - jpshortstuff
• Eclipse - used for Enterprise Development, Embedded + Device Development, Rich Client Platform, Application Frameworks, and Language IDE - jpshortstuff
• phpEdit - PHP IDE (Newest version 2.6.0 is pay for. Previous versions are freeware)
• PSPad - a code editor that supports many file types and languages, with syntax highlighting. There are macros, clip files and templates to automate repetative tasks. Integrated HEX Editor, Project support, FTP Client, Macro Recorder, File Search/Replace, Code Explorer, Code page conversion... - phew
• Visual Studio Express Products - This includes Visual Basic, Visual C#, Visual C++, Visual J#, SQL Server, and Visual Web Dev.

Telnet Clients

• Putty - Telnet and SSH Client

Time & Weather

• Atomic TimeSync - synchronize your system clock with the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology). - Herk
• ClocX - An analog clock application for Microsoft Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP/2003. - tg911
• DS Clock - a digital desktop clock that displays variable date and time information built from the format string - saint satin stain
• ForecastFox - (Firefox extension)This great little extension allows you to set it up so you can always view your local forecast in your Firefox Browser itself. The forecasts come straight from the Weather Channel's website. - tg911
• Forecastfox Enhanced - (Firefox extension) Enhanced version of the popular Forecastfox extension that adds 12 improved radar images and the ability to supply an URL for your own radar image.
• Neutron - simple and small time synchronizing program that retrieves the accurate time from one of several specialized time servers on the Internet. - turbines
• SysMetrix - Highly customizable, and skinnable clock. Can be customized to monitor the weather, your e-mail, cpu, memory usage and many other things, in addition to the time. - Ronbo
• Weather Pulse - A weather application
• Weather Watcher - personal Windows desktop weather station. Automatically retrieve the current conditions, hourly forecast, daily forecast, detailed forecast, severe weather alerts from the National Weather Service (US only), and weather maps for over 77,000 cities world-wide - 98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista - saint satin stain
• WebTime2000 - WebTime 2000 is a small utility program that will synchronize your PC's internal clock with one of the several atomic clocks maintained by the United States National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Games

• Free Full Computer Games

This list was last updated July 25, 2007

Please, feel free to suggest any additions to this list, that you might have.
All we ask, is that you abide by these 3 conditions:

1. It must be Freeware (free programs).
2. It must not contain any Spyware/Malware.
3. It must be a program, that you have, or are still using.

Registry cleaners are not included in this list due to the fact that, in the hands of inexperienced users, they could cause irreparable damage to the Operating System, and render their computer inoperable.
So to be on the safe side, they aren't included in the list.
If you feel you have the need for a registry cleaner, inquire in the forums, and someone will direct you to one.
Please do not recommend any registry cleaners for inclusion into this list.

Any registry cleaning programs that are posted as suggestions, will be removed from this topic, without any explanation!!

So, if you have a program that's not on the list, that you use and like, please suggest it.
Who knows, it might be "just the program" someone was looking for.
All suggestions, will be considered for addition to the list.

If you find any links that don't work, or that don't lead to where they are supposed to, please post them as a reply to this topic, or send me a PM.

http://bluefive.pair.com/alarm.htm

Nice windows alarm clock

May I suggest to add

1. Under Web browsing utilities, LinkScanner Lite from XPL labs. Unlike Site Advisor which McAfee now controls, the XPL product has no nag screen to buy and IMO is better, just slightly slower to fill the green, red, yellow checks.
http://www.explabs.com/products/lslite.asp

2. Under free firewalls, old and good, Kerio firewall v2.1.5
http://www.geocities.com/yosponge/firewall.html
It is not the same as the current Sunbelt version. It's its ancestor. It's lean and once you get the drift of how to make rules, it's not at all difficult without the overfancy UI.

1stpage 2000 - apparently evrsoft does not offer to download the old version anymore. They have 2006 out now. However, I prefer the old one. You can still get it here: http://www.pricelesswarehome.org/2004/PL2004WEBDESIGN.php

Hi ...


How long have you been using this alarm clock?






PS

Montel89 has also posted it here by mistake...

Hi Grinler

I was a devout follower of your freware replacements for XP, and usually checked your list before downloading.

However, I am now using Vista ( not a great fan but it came with new laptop), and choosing freeware stuff that is compatible with Vista is time consuming and frustrating.

I'm well aware of your pinned topic titles for Vista, but find that even by checking into them, it's difficult as there are so many of them. Are you thinking of putting together the same reccommended freeware replacements for Vista as you did for XP ??

I know this is a tall order and will take quite some time as Vista is so new, but having your guidelines are a must for a download junkie such as myself !!

Cheers

Nat
P.S I have just posted a topic in vista about compatibility with vista and firefox as I think I have installed software not suitable for vista, as my laptop is not running at it's best...

GAIM is no longer in development. Now it's known as Pidgin.

According to the website they are still developing the project...



They released an update this week..

Hey nat,

have you had a look at this one: http://www.iexbeta.com/wiki/index.php/Wind...patibility_List ?

Yes, already seen it and similar sites. Just that the BC XP replacement list is more detailed and it helps to know that BC is familiar with the programs.

Trying to get aquainted with Vista is not the easiest - frustrating and tim consuming.

It would be great to find sites that can reccomend software, add-ons, gadgets etc etc and all the other fun stuff , which is relevant to what the user's needs and interests are, incl, OS, desktop / notebook - Graphics, media, accounting, web design etc.

As in, a site that can give "tailor-made" options. You would enter your detailed OS info (RAM, Drivers, Sound Cards etc) and then answer a very specific questionaire regarding exactly what the user does, job, interests, and all the rest of it. Once all this is compiled, a full list of programs (with descriptions/functions) are given. Additionally, the users tech knowledge / level should be included.

I don't suppose that there is such a site...??
Nat

Moderator Edit: Fixed 'quote' BBCode tags. ~ Animal

nat,
This isn't a strictly XP list of freeware.
It covers several Operating Systems.

I don't foresee, a strictly Vista list of freeware, in the near future.
Some of the descriptions, of the programs above, list the Operating Systems they support.
I am in the process of going through all of the above programs, and adding the Operating Systems they support, if I can find the information on their site.
This may take a while, but it will get done.

I hope this will help you out, some.

Thanks for making time to do this tg.

As many have probably found, this issue of compatability can be infuriating and time wasting.

You're welcome, Rob.
It's something I've been wanting to do.

nat, just gave me the incentive.

Here is a blast from the past for our Windows 2000 and 95 users.

MSConfig for Windows 2000 and Windows 95

AOL Active virus shield is no longer available, Been replaced
http://www.activevirusshield.com/antivirus/freeav/index.adp?

Replacemant Product (Free only if you have AOL.com emailaddress)
http://safety.aol.com/isc/BasicSecurity/

Thanks, boopme.
The link, and name, has been updated.

You're quite welcome tg1911

GNUitar. Lightwieght Guitar Processor (Although it works with Mics and other instruments too) Has Win32, RPM,RPMsrc,Tar.gz,Tar.src, Gentoo ebuild, and BSD versions. (had i known that there was a Windows Version I would have added it sooner).

ESET NOD32 has a free online scanner ..works great..fast,anonymous

Operating System:
Microsoft Windows 98/ME/NT 4.0/2000/XP and Windows Vista
Software:
Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) 5.0 or later
User Permissions:
Administrator privileges required for installation.

ESET Online Scanner Benefits




The Scanner link

http://www.eset.com/onlinescan/

Always the incentivator (is there such a word??) never the implementor..!!!

I've been using OpenOffice for a while now. It does have a couple of minor drawbacks, but all-in-all it beats spending hundred$$ for MS Office.

Is there a thread for software reviews? If not, perhaps I'll start an OOo thread.

Might I suggest BugHunter under your antispyware collection?
http://bughunter.it-mate.co.uk

MattV I have been debating posting a few of my reviews here as well (I do member reviews for another forum, since I got through so many pieces of hardware and linux distros). Just wasnt sure of how well it would do here.

Have you used this software? How long did you use it?
The reason I ask is I have never heard of it.
Are there any reviews about the program

Wanna try it and find out? I download and try a lot of software. I'm fussy - if I need a program to handle a specific task, then I want it to be able to handle it, without a bunch of manual steps or other muckin' around.

One thing that really annoys me is when, after uninstalling a program, I get a message telling me that not all of the program could be uninstalled automatically, so you'll have to find this folder and that file and delete them manually. Any program that does that gets an automatic D- from me. And if it won't do what it's supposed to without a lot of foolishness - F.

Actually, I wrote it. I've used it for almost 3 years now. *grin*
I'm sorry you haven't heard of it, It's available on Ultimate Boot CD, as well as many sites; A google.com search would show you many. However, I do have a few favorites that have reviews your welcome to view:

http://www.completelyfreesoftware.com/link...w31_BUGHUN.html

I'm also linked from http://mysteryfcm.co.uk/?mode=Tickets under the friends section... I have a few more reviews and awards listed here: http://bughunter.it-mate.co.uk/Awards.htm

I'm hosted by the fellows at www.it-mate.co.uk; friends of temerc.com.

If theres anything else you'd like to know, feel free to ask me!

Thanks

No, actually that is quite informative and clears everything up, at least for me.
Thank you for the detailed reply.

Muco gracies amigo

Got some new toys:

Folder Guide - "Folder Guide is a free handy utility that provides fast access to your frequently used and favorite folders. It can operate as the part of your context menu in your Windows Explorer."

Very neat if you are a "power user" and need to access certain folders on your system frequently. Just right-click desktop, select the created shorcut and voila you are in your directory previously added to the tool.

Platform: Windows 9x/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003

Dexpot - Like the nice "multiple desktop" feature in Linux. You can now do it on your Windows machine using this nice German freeware (for personal use) tool.

"Dexpot 1.4 turns your monitor into up to 20. It creates and manages virtual desktops and enables you to work far more efficiently and comfortably with many simultaneously opened windows"

Platform: Windows 95/98/ ME and NT4/2000/XP/2003/Vista

-------------------------------------

There is also this other tool: RKLauncher, which is quite nice. Its still in Beta but works. I just had to uninstall it, because i was too much of a goof to set it up as I would like. With a bit of googling and patience (the latter i lack at times), you can set it up nicely though.

-edit-

BTW, in post #2, there is mentioning of LogMeIn Hamachi, just wanted to say that there is also the "plain" LogMeIn free version, which lets you setup remote access to pcs (got me mom hooked up this weekend, so I can fix things from home rather than having to take the 60 Km trip to fix things).

Cheers,

YoHi

I have been using both LogMeIn Free & Hamachi for a while now, and both work great. If you want to add some online storage try AOL's Xdrive. 5GBs of free online storage with a plugin that allow the Xdrive to be mapped as a network drive. You can even automate your backups to it.
Like you I have friends and relatives setup with "LogMeIn Free" so I can trouble shoot, but I also networked my office, home and business partner's home with Hamachi.
They are all free and work very well. I am using them daily.

LogMeIn Free (a VNC utility)

LogMeIn Hamachi Free (VPN Networking)

Xdrive -5GBs of Free Online Storage-

I've never used a remote-access program - paranoia runs rampant in my brain. Are they really safe? My thought has been that if I can access my computer from elsewhere, then someone else can do it too - after they've picked the lock. It would be pretty convenient if I could access this computer from the laptop while we're on vacation. I just don't want other people doing it while I'm sleeping.

(If this question belongs somewhere else, just tell me where you've put it.)

I like this one and it works quite well: Sysclean by Trend Micro (a virus removal tool)

Go to: http://www.trendmicro.com/download/dcs.asp
About 1/2 way down the page is a link to download sysclean.com: (direct download link - http://www.trendmicro.com/ftp/products/tsc/sysclean.com )

Read the instructions at: http://www.trendmicro.com/ftp/products/tsc/readme.txt

Download the lptxxx.zip file and extract it to the same directory as sysclean.com (it's the Virus pattern file on this page: http://www.trendmicro.com/download/pattern.asp ) It's a 40 - 50 mB download at this point.

Run sysclean.com and follow the prompts!

What you pose could be done without such programs, all be it much harder. I have been using both LogMeIn Free and Xdrive for several months, and am very pleased with the results. Both appear to be very stable applications, and can be accessed by most computers that have access to the internet.
Ths only option I was disappointed with, but experted, was LogMeIn Free over dialup (big suprise, huh?).
I am not going to say I won't be hacked, but I am very carefull and I believe that the chance is remote. I am going to keep using both, LogMeIn and Xdrive.

IOBit SmartDefrag

Has two defrag modes: express and comprehensive. Can also run automatically in the background to constantly keep your drive defragged.

Surprised this one has not been posted yet:

Web Browsing Utilities

NoScript

http://noscript.net

Disables Java, Javascript and some other things at your option. I think it's an indispensible tool for Firefox.

Another tool I've not seen mentioned:

Power Shadow

I've been using this for a while and it seems legit. Before trying it, I patiently read through the extensive thread over on Wilders Security Forums, http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=161735

Some caveats:
1. The home page says it is a 30 day trial.
2. But the Wilders forum references a user code and s/n that the company itself released publicly. So it is sort of free.
3. The current english version, 2.6, claims to not be SATA compatible. But many (myself included) use it with SATA. YMMV.
4. There is an update, 2.8, but it is in Chinese. The forum references a patch of sorts, but I found it awkward and incomplete. So I reverted to 2.6.

That being said, it works as advertised. And if you read through the Wilders thread, you'll see that it has been pretty thoroughly (perhaps viciously?) tested and always seems to work. The guys over there have thrown some pretty nasty stuff at it, with no failures.

I certainly think it is worthwhile.

Terry K

I have not tested them, but the source mentioning is one I trust. Also, there is a list of top 10 online storage, which I thaught of acklan, when viewing it.
http://www.nirmaltv.com/2007/08/22/10-free...torage-service/ and http://www.lopesoft.com/en/fmtools/info.html as addition to folder guide.

- edit - erm I hope what I wrote about makes sense. lol I think I mixed German and English grammar together

PhotoFiltre is not free anymore, I used it and at the end of 30 days it quit working and I would have to purchase it. Too bad, I like it, but I don't want to buy it.