Best Free Software Downloads

Best free tool is my very own Pat's Units Converter - you can use it offline! Here are some tags that will help you.

Geek factor: low - can be used 'out of the box'.
Geek factor: medium - might require learning or special setup.
Geek factor: high - for experienced people who understand the pitfalls.
    * programs I have used.     ** programs I still use.

Category Software Links
Web Browsers Firefox ** mozilla.com - better security, tabs, addons
SeaMonkey mozilla.org - combines Firefox, Thunderbird, web page editor, web development tools, and an IRC chat client.
Internet Explorer microsoft.com - Outlook Express mail
Maxthon maxthon.com - shell for Internet Explorer, advanced features
WINDOWS:
Opera * opera.com
SlimBrowser * flashpeak.com
Lynx * lynx.browser.org
Google Chrome * google.com/chrome
OTHER:
Safari apple.com
Camino Chimera mozilla.org - Mac OS X
Lynx-OS X osxgnu.org - text browser
Mailreaders Thunderbird ** mozilla.com mail/news/RSS reader
Eudora eudora.com
Pegasus pmail.com
PocoMail pocosystems.com
Outlook Express microsoft.com
Newsreaders Thunderbird ** mozilla.com
WinVN science.ksc.nasa.gov
Free Agent * forteinc.com
Feed readers Windows:   FeedDemon   Awasu
Mac:   Newsfire   NetNewsWire
Web:   Bloglines   My Yahoo **   Google Reader **   NewsGator
Cell/PDA:   Freenews   Feedreader
Other:   NewsGator   Sharpreader(.NET)
Web Editors (FTP) KompoZer - kompozer.net - WYSIWYG web page editor and publisher. Tutorial [Replaces Nvu]
HTML-Kit - htmlkit.com - specialized HTML development environment with plugins For experienced coders. Internet Explorer required.
SeaMonkey Composer (Mozilla Composer) - mozilla.com/projects/seamonkey - WYSIWYG web editor part of a suite with browser, IRC Chat, Mail, Newsreader.
Amaya - Amaya - Web editor to create and update documents directly on the Web. Linux, Windows, MacOS. World Wide Web Consortium W3C
NetObjects Fusion Essentials - netobjects.com/html/essentials.html - WYSIWYG web editor, built-in publishing, tutorials. Free version of NetObjects Fusion 11.
Firefox Extensions ** - addons.mozilla.com - allow you to create and test HTML with: EditorZilla, Codetch, HTML Validator, IE view
FTP & Testing FireFTP ** - fireftp.mozdev.org - Firefox addon
Filezilla * - sourceforge.net
FTP Explorer ftpx.com - just like Windows Explorer (Win9x/ME/2000/NT4)
Xenu Link Sleuth ** - home.snafu.de - Scans an entire website and creates a report with bad links and site map. (review)
Firewalls Comodo Firewall Pro * - comodo.com
Online-Armor Free - tallemu.com
ZoneAlarm * - zonelabs.com - ZA Free - controls outgoing Internet requests
Sygate - sygate.com
Anti-Virus & Anti-malware Avira AntiVir * - free-av.com - auto-updates
AVG Free * - free.avg.com - auto-updates
ClamWin - clamwin.com - auto-updates
F-Secure Blacklight * - f-secure.com - rootkit monitor
Microsoft Security Essentials ** - microsoft.com - auto-updates
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware ** - malwarebytes.org - manual scan
Spybot Search & Destroy * - Spybot.info - manual scan
SpywareBlaster * - javacoolsoftware.com - manual scan
SuperAntispyware * - superantispyware.com - manual scan in free version
Trend Micro RUBotted * - trendsecure.com - monitors for Bot infection.
Computer Security Microsoft Security Center ** - microsoft.com/security - protect, update, fix and help
Secunia Personal Software Inspector ** - secunia.com - scans your software for security upgrades. Online tester! (Geek factor: medium)
LastPass Password Manager * - lastpass.com - remember one password. Browser addon securely fills in online forms. Mobile apps (Geek factor: medium)
Drop My Rights * - msdn2.microsoft.com... - allows you to drop administrative privileges for individual applications.
fSekrit ** - f0dder.dcmembers.com - creates a portable encrypted text file that requires a password to open. (Geek factor: medium)
Spector Pro - spectorsoft.com - controls your childrens' online usage: chat, IMs, email, websites, Facebook, MySpace, searches. $$
Startup Control (Boot-Time) StartUpMonitor ** - mlin.net - asks before installing startup applications
Autoruns ** - microsoft.com - manages existing startup applications
Start-up List ** - pacs-portal.co.uk - comprehensive list of startup programs (updated frequently)
Network Tools WirelessNetView www.nirsoft.net - displays all WiFi networks in range with channel, signal strength, and security details. (Geek factor: low)
Wireless Network Watcher - nirsoft.net - monitors all computers and devices connected to your home network. (Geek factor: low)
Utilities 7-Zip ** - 7-zip.org - packs 7z, zip, tar; unpacks gzip, rar, cab, iso, arj, lzh. Supports 256-bit encryption
CCleaner ** - filehippo.com - comprehensive system cleaner: deletes unused or unneeded files in the computer, the Registry, and Windows Startup applications. (Geek factor: medium)
Search Everything ** - voidtools.com - file name search. Very fast. (Geek factor: low)
MyDefrag ** - mydefrag.com - disk defragment utility for Windows 2000, 2003, XP, Vista, Win7, X64 (also portable)
RoboCopy GUI microsoft.com - copy folder/files to another location. Based on command-line RoboCopy **, included in Vista/Win7. (Geek factor: medium/high)
WinBubbles for Win7/Vista (similar to TweakUI/XP) ** windowsforus.com - Change Windows settings safely. (Geek factor: medium)
Macrium Reflect Free - www.macrium.com - Creates backup image on external drive. (Windows XP-8) (Geek factor: high)
UltimateBootCD.com - ultimatebootcd.com - creates a CD-ROM with diagnostics & utilities (Geek factor: high)
DiskCheckup - passmark.com - monitors SMART attributes of an internal disk drive to predict disk reliability. Can send email notification alarm. (WinXP to Win7)
WizMouse 1.0.0.5 [561 Kb] - antibody-software.com - Solves mouse scrolling problems. Mouse wheel will scroll anywhere under the mouse. (Vista/Win7) (Geek factor: low)
FileMenu Tools - www.lopesoft.com Set of tools including enable/disable "Context Menu" commands (Win XP-7) (Geek factor: high)
File Types Manager www.nirsoft.net - change default icons for file extensions (Geek factor: high)
Unlocker by Cedrick Collomb - emptyloop.com - Delete, rename or move locked files and folders. (Windows 2000/2003/XP/Vista/7 32/64-bit) (Geek factor: backup first)
Agent Ransack ** - mythicsoft.com - file name and/or contents search, regex options. Right-click option. (review)
Wizmo ** - grc.com - create icons to shutdown, standby, reboot, hibernate your computer, start screensaver, mute sound, blank screen, etc. (review)
EASEUS Partition Master ** - partition-tool.com - Free program to change hard drive partitions.
BootIt Bare Metal - www.terabyteunlimited.com - Boot-manager, partition-manager, backup-and-restore tool. Free trial, $40 (Geek factor: high)
Bat To Exe Converter - www.f2ko.de - You can "pin" the EXE (but not BAT) to Win7 taskbar (Geek factor: med)
Win-XP
Utilities
TweakUI for XP (Windows XP Powertoy) - microsoft.com - changes Windows settings safely. Supplied on Win98 disk Tools\Reskit\Powertoy folder. (Geek factor: medium)
X-Setup Pro - x-setup.net - Windows (95,XP,Vista) system configuration, hundreds of tweaking options, easy restore. Download & Reg.key majorgeeks.com.
Windows XP Recovery Console - microsoft.com - how to use it on your Install CD (reading from another computer)
Xxcopy xxcopy.com - Command-line function to copy or syncronize files (Win98/WinXP) (Geek factor: high)
Office Software Open Office - openoffice.org - office suite for all major platforms except Mac OS X. You can also try online office documents.
SoftMaker Office 2008 - mydigitallife.info - office suite with free licence key. Opens MS-word, Excel, OpenDocument, RTF.
Gnome Office - gnome.org - free office suite includes Abiword, OpenCalc
Foxit Reader ** - foxitsoftware.com - PDF document reader
Microsoft Office document viewers (microsoft.com)
Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack (microsoft.com) - get new Word/Excel/PowerPoint fonts. Office software is not required.
Google Docs (cloud apps) - docs.google.com - create documents online (free)
Notetab - notetab.com - ultimate text editor, tabbed files, options for programmers & HTML, clip libraries. (review)
Skype VOIP client - skype.com - Phone from your computer to another computer running Skype for free or buy service for calling phone numbers (review)
Photos Picasa - picasa.google.com - organize photos. Helps locate, edit and share photos.
Windows Live Photo Gallery - gimp.org - graphics editor for Win/Mac/Linux. Replaces Photoshop with tweaks here: smashingmagazine.com
Image Resizers - microsoft.com - XP Image Resizer Powertoy.
addictivetips.com - Image Resizer Powertoy Clone For Windows 7 **
Irfanview Viewer ** - irfanview.com - viewer for photos, images, documents, multimedia (addons). Basic image editing/conversion. (review)
Audio Video Audacity - audacity.sourceforge.net - Sound Editor
QuickTime Alternative - free-codecs.com - Plays Quicktime movies in websites
VLC media player - videolan.org/vlc - Plays and converts most audio and video formats
Portable Apps 7-Zip Portable - portableapps.com - zip & archive utility
Autoruns - microsoft.com - manages startup applications
JkDefrag * - jkdefrag.en.softonic.com - disk defragment. !Replaced by MyDefrag!
Minimo - mozilla.org/projects/minimo - web browser for mobile devices
OperaTor - archetwist.com/en/opera/operator - portable software to browse the web anonymously using Opera Browser, Tor and Polipo.
PortableApps.com - Portableapps.com - Mozilla Firefox Portable - Mozilla Thunderbird Portable
Pstart - pegtop.net/start - Start menu for portable apps is drive letter independent
Portable ClamWin - portableapps.com - anti-virus
Portable "Open Office" suite - sourceforge.net | portableapps.com
Cloud Storage DropBox (syncs across your devices) - dropbox.com - backup, share and sync documents online. 2GB free storage (also Android/IOS)
SendSpace Lite www.sendspace.com - upload/download large files to 300MB. Inactive files may be deleted. Free, ad supported.
Adrive www.adrive.com - 2GB max. files, 50GB storage. ZohoŽ online editing. (also Android/IOS)
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