Most of the software I use everyday for productivity, entertainment and to communicate with friends is freely available over the internet. The problem of course is that there is lots of software freely available on the internet that is either really bad or just simply malicious, full of viruses and spyware.
I have put together this guide to the free software I use myself and couldn't do without. It really is some of the best software out there whether paid or not.
Click the "Read More" link to see the list
- OpenOffice and StarOffice
Microsoft has owned the market when it comes to office application suites forever with it's Microsoft Office. In fact, since the late 90's they have really been the only game in town. In an effort to put up a fight and inject some competition into the market some big players in the tech game have been supporting (or all out sponsoring) a couple of great projects that are free and have all the features you would find in Microsoft Office, but without the $250 price tag.
Whether you are looking for a free alternative to Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Access or Publisher these programs will do everything those will and they are fully compatible with those programs so you won't have any problems opening documents created in Microsoft Works or Office like you sometimes will with different versions of those Microsoft programs.
One important note! If Microsoft Office compatibility is important to you StarOffice claims to be better than OpenOffice.
Click here to check out OpenOffice.org
Click here to download StarOffice via Google Pack
There are quite a few free anti-virus programs out there that are very good. In fact, for years I used AVG anti-virus and I still recommend that for computer gamers and advanced computer users who are a bit more internet savvy and need top performance out of their machines. However, for everyday use on your typical computer I highly recommend using Avast. Avast does a good job of being comprehensive in it's security without getting in the way of the things you need to do with your computer like McAfee and Norton (Symantec) have a tendency to do.
Click here to check out Avast anti-virus
 Picasa
Google has been a lot of great services and software they give away free (google earth, gmail, google documents) or provide as ad supported. Fortunately, Picasa is the former and is also the single best, easiest to use picture management software money can buy (but it's free!).
Picasa allows you simply and easily organize your pictures and then automatically scans for new pictures when you upload them. Picasa also allows you to easily make all the adjustments you will need for family photos like cropping, resizing, red-eye reduction, filtering, etc.
 Click here to download Picasa
Winamp has been around playing CD's and MP3's for free for as long as I can remember. When it comes to media players the biggest headache I find is that they are slow and take forever to load, but Winamp has always packed all the features you might want into a small package that loads quickly and doesn't bog down your system. I recently updated my version because the developers added the ability to manage and download podcasts.
Click there to download Winamp
IrfanView is another old staple of the internet that manages to pack an impressive list of features into a very small package that loads quick. IrfanView is primarily a simple image editor that allows you to crop, resize and otherwise manipulate images. It also has the ability the batch edit images, batch change filenames, take screenshots and more!
Click here to download IrfanView
 Comodo Firewall
Unfortunately, if you are counting on the firewall built into Windows to protect your computer from unauthorized access you will probably be let down. Fortunately, one of the most highly rated firewall solutions is available for free. One of the things that makes Comodo really great is that the developers include a long list of known and trusted applications so you are not constantly being bothered to let a known program have access the internet which ultimately makes the firewall more effective by focusing your attention on the programs that need it.
P.S. if you do use this or any other firewall solution I would recommend you shut off the Windows firewall to prevent any conflicts.
Click here to download the Comodo Firewall
This is the greatest internet based communication tool ever created. Skype allows you to make phone calls from your computer to any phone anywhere, but if you call to another Skype user on their computer anywhere in the world the call is free! You can even use a webcam for a free video conference. Of course, you will need speakers and a microphone on your computer, but you can actually purchase USB telephones that work directly with Skype!
Click here to download Skype
 Foxit Reader
Every web developer, including me, loves PDF files because we know that whomever looks at them on whatever computer or browser will see exactly the same thing. However, as a user I hate using Adobe Reader because it is such an unnecessarily HUGE program and takes forever to load! Thanks then to the folks at Foxit software who have developed a line of competing products to Adobe's Acrobat and Reader that are light and fast. They also give away their PDF reading software for free.
Click here to download Foxit Reader
 VideoLan Client
The problem with playing video on your computer is all the different formats there are and all the different codecs and players needed to play them. That is where the VideoLan Client (VLC) comes in. VLC is by far the most comprehensive video player available and it does it in a small package that won't bog down your system. VLC even plays DVD's which few video players will do.
Click here to download the VideoLan Client
- 7-Zip
Even though Windows XP and Vistas comes with simple Zip capability built in there are a lot of compression formats out there that are much more efficient but that require special software to unpack them. 7-Zip steps in nicely here with a full compliment of capabilities to handle any compressed file you might encounter.
Click here to download 7-Zip
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