Free softwareFree software, Freeware, Open source software
There are so many programs that you can download on the internet however the majority of them are rubbish or cost a small fortune! So here I have brought together a list of programs that I am currently using or have used in the past which are free, useful and don't contain spyware or viruses! The list is split into the following sections: safety software, system tools, imaging software, internet related software and other software. If you have any suggestions or recommendations of programs which are free, please contact me and I will try the program and consider adding it!
Safety
Free antivirus - AVG antivirus is excellent and free! It automatically downloads updates every morning and has nearly all the features that Norton Antivirus has! You really must have this software on your computer if you want to stay safe online.
Free firewall - Zone alarm free edition is a free firewall I have been using for the past 5 years! It's excellent, regularly updated and is light on system resources. This is an essential piece of software to keep your computer secure.
Spyware remover - Adaware is one of the best and most used free spyware removal packages available. I've been using it for ages now and can definitely recommend it!
Spyware and malware remover - Spybot search and destroy is another excellent and free spyware and malware removal package. Spyware complements Adaware and should be used along with AVG Antivirus, Zone alarm, and Adaware to ensure your PC remains free from viruses, trojans and spyware.
Free remote backup - Free remote backup is finally here! With Mozy you get 2GB of free backup space, so you can download it and have it automatically backup you data at a free, secure and remote location.
Recover deleted files - Free software to recover files that you have deleted on your computer, digital camera or removal drive! This software is really simple to use and extremely useful!
Image editing
User-friendly image editing - Free image editing software that has been made to replace the basic paint from Windows. With Paint.net you can create and alter photos using layers, add effects, and a number of other tools. It's very useful and easy to use.
Photoshop alternative - The GIMP is an alternative to Adobe's photoshop. The GIMP has a lot features that Photoshop has including clone, airbrush, layers and lots of effects. It is not the most user friendly program to use, but I've been using it for a couple of years now and can definitely recommend.
Illustrator alternative - Inkscape is an alternative to Adobe Illustrator. It's a is a Vector Graphics Editor which basically means it's useful for for graphic design, page layout, typography, logos and sharp-edged artistic illustrations.
Make your own panoramas - This free program makes creating your own panoramas using your digital camera extremely simple! I’ve tried loads of different "stitching" software, but this one is easily the best! Believe it or not, auto-stitch is completely free!
Andrea Mosaic - AndreaMosaic is a photographic mosaic software with which you can create your own photographic mosaics and with your own pictures. I've used it to create a number of photo mosaics and would really recommend it!
Windows XP tweaking
Google desktop - With this software you can easily find all your files on your computer
Change the colour of your folders - With this free piece of software, you can right click on any of your folders in windows and change the colour of them. There are a number of folder styles to choose from.
Vista start button for windows XP
Media
Audacity - With this program you can edit and create digital audio files quickly and easily with this free audio editor
Super v2007.build.21
Internet tools
Voice Recording software for Skype
Net transport 1.9 - This version of the software is free to use and you can use it to download media off the internet, for example to download streamed files like real audio files and wmv files completely.
Allway Sync - This free program synchronizes folders and files between computers and other storage devices. This program has a feature to automatically synchronize any folders selected at regular intervals to ensure your files are kept secure. Its simple to use and free for personal use so I would recommend it.
Other
Dark room - A full screen text editor which helps you write on your PC completely free of distractions! This is the PC equivalent of Write Room a mac application.
E-Sword - Free Bible study software for PCs and Pocket PCs. E-Sword is feature rich and user friendly. You can download loads of extra translations, commentaries, maps etc for it! I have been using it for several years now and it is excellent and to add to all that it's free!
PDF reader - In my opinion this software is better than Adobe because it is much less resource intensive so very quick to loads up
Screen capture software - Free screen capture software enables you to capture anything on the screen including windows, objects, full screen, rectangle regions, freehand-selected regions and scrolling windows.