There are a
lot of great freeware products out there. Many are as
good or even better than their commercial alternatives.
This list features my personal pick of the "best of the
best."
The
Best-ever Freeware List
1
Best Free Web Browser
Updated
January 16,
2006
Internet Explorer is a competent browser but it has
become such a target for malicious exploits that it is
now a major security risk. Quite separately, the browser
itself is now looking dated with most alternative
products offering tabbed browsing and other productivity
enhancements. There are several excellent alternatives
but Mozilla Firefox V1.5 is the stand-out pick. It's
safer than Internet Explorer, so safe in fact that many
users have reported no spyware infections since they
started using the product. It's also browses faster than
Internet Explorer and is stable and reliable as well. It
loads a little slower than IE but once running, it zips
along at lightning speed. With tabbed browsing and more
free extensions than you could ever want, it offers a
major upgrade in your browsing experience. Unlike IE,
it's also standards compliant. The 600+ free extensions
available are a huge plus, allowing you to totally
customize your browsing experience. Firefox is now my
everyday browser though occasionally I have to fire up
IE to browse a site designed around IE's non-standard
features. If you don't like Firefox then you should
check out Opera. It's always been a great browser but
until recently was only available as shareware or in
advertising-supported versions. Now though, it's free.
There's much to like about Opera but I do miss all those
Firefox extensions.
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/ (4.7MB)
http://www.techsupportalert.com/firefox.htm <= Free
Firefox migration guide
http://www.opera.com/ (3.7MB)
2
Best Free Anti-Virus
Software
Updated
January 16,
2006
There are two equal recommendations in this category.
First there is AVG Antivirus 7.0 Free Edition. This
product [1] has been continuously refined since it was
first released in 1991 and now offers very impressive
protection capabilities. Additionally, it's relatively
small, light on resources, has regular automatic updates
and handles email scanning. There is a free and a pro
version, the only difference being that the free version
has a few non-critical features disabled and has no
direct technical support. Even so, it's an impressive
package and offers the financially challenged a real
alternative to the major anti-virus suites. Equally
impressive is the free Avast! scanner [2] though its
funky media player style interface is not to everyone's
taste. Avast! also required periodic re-registration
while AVG does not. However Avast! does not seem to
suffer the signature file update problems that plague
some AVG users. A possible third option is AntiVir [3].
It offers slightly better detection rates than either
AVG or Avast! but the lack of email scanning precludes
general recommendation. However it's a good choice as a
second on-demand scanner. If you use it in this role,
make sure you disable its resident virus guard during
installation to prevent it interfering with your main AV
scanner.
Another good option for on-demand scanning is the free
version of the commercial AV product BitDefender [4].
It's fine in this role but the free version lacks an
email scanner and a resident virus guard so it's
unsuited for use as your only AV product.
[1]
http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/ (15.8MB)
[2]
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html (9.5MB)
[3]
http://www.free-av.com (6.8MB)
[4]
http://www.bitdefender.com/PRODUCT-14-en--BitDefender-8-Free-Edition.html
(13.2MB)
[5]
http://www.techsupportalert.com/free-vs-paid-av.htm
<= review of the effectiveness of free security software
3
Best Free Adware/Spyware/Scumware Remover
My top recommendation is Microsoft's Antispyware program
[1] which is currently available as a free beta to users
of Windows 2000 and later. The Microsoft program is
based on the Giant Antispyware product that Microsoft
purchased late in 2004. I used Giant for some time and
found it to offer outstanding detection and real time
protection against the current plague of scumware
products. The only minus being that it uses a fair slab
of processing power and that could can slow down older
PCs. The free Microsoft version is very similar to the
previous commercial Giant version. I just hope Microsoft
doesn't mess around too much with this excellent product
however Microsoft's track record in this area has not
been good. It's something I'll be keeping a close eye
on. Microsoft has announced that the product will remain
free even when out of beta so, subject to my previous
reservations, it's a good long term choice. For Windows
9x and ME users I suggest two free products: Ad-Aware SE
V1.6 [2] and SpyBot Search and Destroy V1.4 [3]. Both
work well together and between them you'll get excellent
protection. If you have a relatively fast PC, I suggest
you turn on the TeaTimer option when you install SpyBot.
It will give you reasonable active protection but at the
cost of eating up some of your processing power. The
active protection offered by TeaTimer is not as
comprehensive as the Microsoft product but Internet
Explorer users can augment it by using SpywareBlaster
(see next item)
[1]
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx (
6.4MB)
[2]
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/
(1.7MB)
[3]
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html
(4.6MB)
4
Best Free Browser
Protection Utility
There's a scumware plague at the moment. All it takes
is a visit to a pushy web site or a loaded shareware
install and next minute your Internet Explorer homepage
has been changed, your default search setting altered,
unwanted ads pop up on your screen and worse. You can
help protect Internet Explorer against these attacks by
using SpywareBlaster [1]. It's is not a system scanner
rather it is monitor that's designed to prevent an
initial infection. It provides active protection for
Internet Explorer users against thousands of malevolent
products that use ActiveX based exploits and offers
defenses against hostile sites and unwanted cookies as
well. SpywareBlaster can be used with Firefox but
there's not much point as Firefox doesn't need to be
protected against ActiveX exploits. SpywareBlaster is
free but the automatic update service costs $9.95
annually. A companion program to SpywareBlaster is
SpywareGuard [2]. It is also a protective program that
checks programs before they are run for malware behavior
and also does some signature checking as well. However
of late SpywareGuard seems to have been rather neglected
with no new updates for more than a year so I can only
give it a qualified recommendation. SpywareBlaster
though, is a terrific product and a must-have for
Internet Explorer users who also use the free version of
Ad-Aware. If you are using Microsoft Antispyware,
Ad-Aware Pro or other anti-spyware utility with a
real-time monitor, you don't really need it.
[1]
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html
(2.2MB)
[2]
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareguard.html
(1.96MB)
5
Best Free
Firewall Updated
January 16,
2006
No other single product
class seems to cause as much angst to average users in
their installation and day-to-day use as Firewalls.
That's why my choice for "best" goes to Kerio Personal
Firewall the product that seems to cause the fewest
problems for users yet manages first rate protection as
well. Kerio dropped the free version in late 2005 but
thankfully Sunbelt Software, the makers of the excellent
CounterSpy anti-spyware scanner, picked it up and will
continue making it available [1] under the name of
Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall. Note that the free and
paid versions of Kerio are the same. If you don't buy
the product some advanced features are automatically
turned off after 30 days. The latest free version (V6)
of the ZoneAlarm firewall [2] comes in as a good second
choice though it can be a troublesome program on some
PCs. It's also a very cut-down product; each new version
of the free ZoneAlarm seems to have fewer features while
its commercial big brother grows ever more bloated. More
adventurous users might like to try the now discontinued
Sygate Personal Firewall. It's still available from
numerous download sites[3] and is an excellent and
robust firewall though not the easiest to set up.
Another tricky product to install is NetVeda Safety.Net
firewall [3] however its performance is quite
outstanding and it offers application control and
content filtering as well. This highly capable product
deserves to be better known and experienced users should
definitely put it on their short list.
[1]
http://www.sunbelt-software.com/Kerio.cfm (7.3MB)
[2]
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/freeDownload.jsp
(9.0MB)
[3]
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/sygatefw.html (9.1MB)
[4]
http://www.netveda.com/consumer/safetynet.htm
(6.3MB)
6
Best
Free Trojan Scanner/Trojan Remover
Ewido is the best of a new crop of anti-Trojan programs.
On my recent tests over at
www.anti-trojan-software-reviews.com it emerged as
was one of the few products that could reliably detect
polymorphic and process injecting Trojans that were
totally missed by anti-virus products like Norton and
AVG. Unfortunately the free version of Ewido doesn’t
have a memory monitor and this omission significantly
reduces the level of active protection provided. However
the on-demand scanner is excellent. I recommend that all
average PC users who don't have an anti-trojan scanner
download Ewido and scan their PCs weekly. I suspect you
may be surprised at what you will find. Ewido is also
pretty good at removing some spyware infections so bear
that in mind next time you encounter a spyware product
you can't remove with normal anti-spyware products like
Ad-Aware. Note that Ewido only works with Windows 2000
and later so Win 9X users should consider the free
version of
a2 (a-squared) anti-trojan as an alternative. It's
not quite as effective as Ewido but is still an
excellent product. High risk PC users such as P2P file
sharers and frequenters of hack sites, should however
consider the industrial strength protection of
Trojan Hunter or the
full version of Ewido both of which offer the active
protection they need. Note: The free version of Ewido is
actually the same as the paid version but after 14 days
the active protection (i.e. memory monitor) becomes
non-functional.
http://www.ewido.net/en/ (2.2MB)
http://www.anti-trojan-software-reviews.com/review-ewido.htm
<= review of Ewido
7
Best
Free Rootkit Scanner/Remover
Updated
January 16,
2006
Rootkits are a special kind of software tool used to
hide trojans, viruses and other malware from your
anti-virus scanner and other security products.
Unfortunately, they are extremely effective which means
that some of you reading this will be infected even
though you believe your PC to be totally clean.
Thankfully there is a new class of security product now
available called rootkit detectors that use specialized
techniques to detect these dangerous intruders. Most of
these detectors require quite a bit of technical skill
to interpret the results but one of the simplest to use
and most effective is also free. It's called BlackLight
[1] and is currently available as a free beta from
F-Secure until the 1st of March, 2006. I suggest
everyone download this product and scan their PC. The
chances of you being infected are small but for five
minutes work it's not worth taking the risk.
BlackLight will detect most rootkits missed by AV
scanners but can still be fooled by state-of-the-art
rootkits like some of the custom versions of Hacker
Defender. To detect this and a few other insidious
rootkits, you need heavier artillery. Currently the
biggest gun in the rootkit detection war is a free
Chinese product called IceSword. It will reveal just
about everything running on your PC. Usage, however,
requires considerable technical skill together with the
patience to work out the program. It was originally only
documented in Chinese but an English version [2] has now
appeared. In the hands of an skilled user, its an
amazing tool. The Chinese site is very slow but David
Wasson has provided a local mirror [3]. The reality is
that at the present time full protection against
rootkits requires the use of multiple products. For
details see my article on rootkits below [4].
[1]
http://www.f-secure.com/blacklight/cure.shtml
Windows 2000 and later, 911KB.
[2]
http://www.xfocus.net/tools/200509/IceSword_en1.12.rar
<=
slow Chinese site, 565KB
[3]
http://tinyurl.com/ckqsn <= Local mirror for
IceSword
[4]
http://www.techsupportalert.com/rootkits.htm <= How
to deal with the threat of rootkits
8
Best Free
Intrusion Prevention and Detection Utility for Home Use
Updated
January 16,
2006
These days all users face a real risk of malicious
programs secretly installing themselves on your
computer. Anti-virus and anti-spyware products
dramatically reduce the chance of infection but you can
enhance your protection further by installing an
additional layer of defense with an intrusion detection
program (IDS). For advanced users Prevx Home is a stand
out recommendation. In my tests it beat all other free
intrusion detection systems hands down. The free Home
version was recently discontinued by the developer in
favor of a new product Prevx1 for which there is no free
version only a free beta [1] . However Prevx Home is
still readily available from other download sites [2]
and remains a very viable product. One problem with
Prevx Home is its talkative nature and sometimes cryptic
messages which make it only suitable for truly
experienced users. For other users (but not beginners) I
recommend the free version of WinPatrol [3]. Like Prevx
it provides a vital "last ditch" defense layer by
telling you when a product is trying to change any of
the critical settings on your PC such as the registry
and auto-start areas. WinPatrol simply throws up a
dialog asking whether you want to allow the change or
not. Of course being warned is useless unless you have
some idea how to respond to the warning. That's why
neither Prevx nor WinPatrol is suited to inexperienced
users. If you are a beginner you should seriously
consider the $29.95 Plus version of WinPatrol which
provides lots of guidance to help you make sense of any
warning messages. As a bonus it offers better protection
as well.
[1]
http://www.prevx.com/prevxhome.asp (7.5MB)
[2]
http://www.tucows.com/preview/385216
[3]
http://www.winpatrol.com/ (880KB)
http://www.techsupportalert.com/intrusion-detection.htm
<= Brief survey of IDS software
9
Best Free
Anonymous Surfing Service
There are lots of reasons folks have for wanting to surf
anonymously, ranging from simple paranoia to possibly
being murdered by a malevolent foreign government.
Whatever the reasons, commercial services that offer
anonymity are doing real well. However one of the best
services JAP, is totally free. In fact JAP is perhaps a
little too good. That's why the German Police insisted
in 2004 that a backdoor be put into the product to allow
interception of child pornographers. This was done but
subsequently removed as a result of court action by JAP.
An alternative to JAP is another system called Tor. It
not only allows anonymous browsing but anonymous email,
IM, and IRC chat as well. Given the US Navy origin of
Tor, the suspicion arises that this system may indeed
have a permanent backdoor. However the source code is
now publicly available so that suspicion can be set
aside. Whatever, both JAP and Tor offer a level of
secrecy that is better than many commercial systems.
However expect your surfing to slow down as you'll be
relayed through a chain of servers. You'll also need to
change your browser settings to work through a proxy.
Note: the latest V5 release of JAP now allows Tor users
to use JAP as a software access point.
http://anon.inf.tu-dresden.de/index_en.html
http://tor.eff.org/
10
Best Free
Software Suite
Updated
November 18, 2005
The Open CD site [1] offers for free a wonderful
collection of just about every application software
product you need to run a PC including the latest
version of OpenOffice. Many of these freebies substitute
admirably for expensive commercial products. There is
Abi Word as an alternative for MS Word, OpenOffice for
MS Office XP, Thunderbird for Outlook, The Gimp for
Adobe Photoshop, 7-zip for WinZip and many more. If you
then add to this collection some of the other utilities
from my "46 Best-ever Utilities" collection you will
have all the software you'll ever need without spending
a cent. Note: All of the Open CD utilities can be
downloaded for free as a CD ISO image. If you have a
slow connection you can purchase the CD for a as little
as $1.99. In addition to the Windows versions, the CD
also contains the same collection of programs
implemented under a version of Linux called
Ubuntu that can be
booted and run directly from the CD. That way you not
only get to try all these great programs you can try
Linux as well, without interfering in any way with your
current Windows installation. Update: the folks at
Ubuntu [2] are now giving away free CDs containing the
latest version of Ubuntu Linux together with most of the
programs on the Open CD. They will send you the full
Ubuntu installation CDs plus a live CD where you can run
Ubuntu directly from the CD. You can order as many CDs
as you want and you don't even have to pay the mailing
costs! When you get your CDs read this this simple
introduction to Linux [3] before starting.
[1]
http://theopencd.org
[2]
http://www.ubuntu.com/download/support/documentation/faq/shipit/
[3]
http://www.paulstamatiou.com/2005/10/24/how-to-ubuntu-linux-for-novices/
11
Best
Free File Manager
Windows Explorer is fine for simple file management
activities but when you have some serious work to do,
you need a two pane file manager. I use
Directory Opus which is without doubt the best
product in this class but costs $59. Recently I
discovered xplorer˛. It offers a good part of the
functionality of Directory Opus and is totally free. As
a bonus, its user interface is very similar to Windows
Explorer, so most users will find this tool easy to
learn and use.(575KB)
http://www.netez.com/xplorer2/x2lite.htm
12
Best Free
Email Client
Updated
January 16,
2006
Thunderbird is a free open
source POP and IMAP email client developed by
Mozilla.org, the same folks who brought you Firefox.
Feature-wise it sits somewhere between Outlook Express
and Outlook which means that it offers an upgrade to
Express users and a downgrade to those who use the more
advanced PIM features of Outlook. All Outlook Express
users should seriously consider switching. You’ll be
rewarded with a more advanced product including built-
in spam filtering, built-in RSS reader, better security,
message color coding, fast email search and the ability
to view your mail in conversational threads. On top of
that, the product is more secure than OE and unlike the
latter, is still being actively developed. The
transition is made easier by the fact that Thunderbird
looks and works similar to OE. Tools within Thunderbird
also allow you to easily import OE account settings and
stored email. Outlook users who aren’t reliant on
calendaring, Microsoft Exchange or Outlook plug-ins
should also consider switching. Thunderbird email files
can be indexed by the Google, Yahoo! and Copernic
desktop search programs. Note: the newly released
Version 1.5 adds anti-Phishing measures, spell check as
you type, inbox filters, Kerberos authentication,
automatic updates and many more features to this already
excellent product.
http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird
http://www.nidelven-it.no/articles/introduction_to_thunderbird
13
Best Free Web Mail
Accessory
Two suggestions: the first is a nifty free product
called YPOPs! (formerly YahooPops!) that allows you to
collect your Yahoo webmail from within your POP email
client such as Outlook, Thunderbird or Eudora. I use it
on multiple Yahoo accounts and it works wonderfully. The
second suggestion is an Open Source utility called
MrPostman. It's a much more flexible product than YPOPs!
and will download HotMail, Lycos, Yahoo and several
other webmail services into your POP email client. It
can also give you access to email accounts on MS
Exchange 5.5. If you only use Yahoo webmail, go with
YPOPs! as MrPostman is a more complex program
and can need a bit of
fiddling to work correctly. You'll find a couple of
links below that will help you. Note that MrPostman
requires the Java Runtime Environment to be installed on
your PC.
http://yahoopops.sourceforge.net/ (1.3MB)
http://mrpostman.sourceforge.net/ (1.5MB)
http://2mod2.com/mohot/ <= Installing Mr Postman
http://sourceforge.net/forum/?group_id=68124 <=
MrPostman forum
14
Best Free Clipboard Replacement Utility
The regular clipboard in Windows has limitations – one
item at a time and no retention after logging off.
Clipboard replacement utilities provide the ability to
hold multiple items and store them for future use, even
after logging off. There are many free clipboard
replacement utilities available, including CLCL,
Clipboard Magic, Clipboard Recorder, Clippy 2001, Ditto,
DzSoft Paste & Save, and Yankee Clipper III. While none
of these have the very extensive set of features of the
class-leading shareware product ClipMate 6 ($29.95),
they all offer the basic clipboard replacement features
that 95% of us really want and need. If you just need a
basic clipboard replacement utility, look no further
than Clipboard Recorder [1]. It will store up to 99
items that can be easily selected and pasted from the
popup history list by pressing the shortcut key
(Ctrl-Alt-V by default). It supports a variety of
formats (text, RTF, HTML, CSV, Bitmap, etc.) and has the
ability to transfer copied items between computers. In
addition, it is a very small program and uses very
little resources. Clipboard Recorder is what the regular
clipboard in Windows should have been! However, if you
need advanced features such as the ability to support
additional item types, create groups of items, search
previous items, and synchronize clipboards across
multiple computers, then I would recommend trying Ditto
[2]. In addition to its extended feature set, its user
interface is very clean, easy to use, and has many
configurable options that you can configure to meet your
needs. Note that Ditto requires DAO to be installed [3].
[1]
http://www.lw-works.com/ Windows 98 and later, 382
KB
[2]
http://ditto-cp.sourceforge.net/ Windows 95 and
later, 422KB
[3]
http://ditto-cp.sourceforge.net/dao_setup.exe .3MB
15
Best Free
HTML Editor
Updated
January 16,
2006
This is one of my most requested items but up until now
I've not been able to give any product my hearty
endorsement. There have been any number of contenders:
Amaya for example, impressed with its standards
compliance but was incomplete while Selida looked slick
but had too many bugs. Finally a worthy contender has
arrived on the scene in the form of the Open Source Nvu.
In reality Nvu is nothing new but rather a reworking of
the old Netscape Composer. Composer was always a solid
product and the revamp has lifted the product into
another class. Here is an HTML editor and site manager
that's easy enough for beginners to use but powerful
enough to build large sites. It's closer in concept to
Microsoft's FrontPage more than any other product but
unlike FrontPage it, thankfully, produces standards
compliant code. Its easy-to-use WYSIWYG editor will
delight HTML newbies while HTML honchos can simply click
a tab to switch to code view. Multiple tabs can be kept
open to allow simultaneous editing and there is
excellent support for forms, tables and templates. An
internal spell-checker is included. CSS is handled
through the CaScadeS editor from Mozilla Composer. Nvu
also has the handy ability to call W3C's HTML validator
from within the product. It's also extensible via XUL.
Nvu can upload files to your site via FTP and has some
basic site management features but this is not its
strength. Indeed the FTP side of the program has proved
so problematic for some users that they have switched
to using an external FTP client for uploading their
sites. Overall it's an impressive product; no, it's not
a replacement for commercial products like DreamWeaver
but those looking for a competent, free HTML editor
that's easy to use need look no further. Free Open
Source, Windows 98 and later plus Linux, 6.57MB
http://www.nvu.com/
16
Best Free Spam
Filter for the Average User
This is a difficult category as
ordinary users need products that are easy to use and
frankly, most free spam filters are way too complex to
set up and use. The best products in this class are in
fact, shareware not free. That said, MailWasher is for
most folks, the best free option. MailWasher is an email
preview utility that allows you to check your email on
your mail server before you download it to your PC. The
advantage of this approach is that you can kill unwanted
messages including spam, viruses and large attachments
before they get anywhere near your computer. MailWasher
flags for you any messages containing possible spam and
viruses for you to quickly check. It's a simple idea
but quite effective and one which average users find
easy to understand. The last free version of MailWasher
[2] before it went commercial is still floating around
the web. It lacks many of the advanced spam detection
features of the current commercial version but is still
quite effective. Alternatively, try XTerminator [3]
which works much the same way as MailWasher and is
totally free. I must say though, I prefer MailWasher's
user interface.
[1]
http://www.mailwasher.net ( 3.05MB)
[2] http://www.321download.com/LastFreeware/page2.html#Mailwasher
(1.57MB)
[3]
http://www.artplus.hr/adapps/eng/xterminator.htm
(1.87MB)
[4]
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-antispam.htm <=brief
review of the best spam blockers
17
Best Free Spam
Filter for Experienced Users
There are many different spam filters available
employing lots of different techniques. In my experience
"learning" spam filters that use the Bayesian
statistical approach out-perform most other types of
filters I've tried. Not only are they better at
detecting spam they are also less liable to classify
your real mail as spam. This effectiveness takes a
little time to develop as the filter has to be trained
to recognize your spam from your normal mail. It takes
a week or so before results start becoming accurate and
best results may take a month or more. POPFile, a free,
open source spam filter, was one of the first Bayesian
filters and is still one of the best. It works as a
proxy mail server so that means that it can be used with
any POP email client. Setup is reasonably
straightforward for experienced users but beginners may
be better off with Mailwasher. If you use Outlook there
are several excellent free Bayesian spam filters
available including SpamBayes and K9. Both are simple to
install though, like all statistical filters, they need
to go through a training phase before they reach full
effectiveness.
http://popfile.sourceforge.net/old_index.html
(4.3MB)
http://spambayes.sourceforge.net/ (3.6MB)
http://www.keir.net/k9.html (113KB)
18
Best Free
Popup Stopper
The need for popup stopper utilities has fallen away in
recent months as many browsers such as Firefox now have
this function built in. If you need a separate popup
stopper and have good PC skills I suggest you try The
Proxomitron. It operates by filtering and transforming
all your Web pages on the fly. As a result you can not
only stop pop-ups but pop-unders, ads, flash animations,
status bar scrollers and just about anything else.
Besides, next time you are asked what pop-up stopper you
use, you can answer; "why, I use The Proxomitron" and
how cool is that. The first link below is to version
4.5, the last and final version of this superb utility.
The following two links offer useful setup and usage
tips. Note: For Novice PC users I suggest you try the
Google toolbar rather than The Proxomitron. It's free as
well and has an excellent popup filter built in. It's
nowhere near as flexible as as The Proxomitron, but it
requires no setup. As a bonus it also makes Google
searches easier.
http://computercops.biz/files/ProxN45.exe
http://accs-net.com/smallfish/prox.htm
http://www.sankey.ws/proxomitron.html
http://toolbar.google.com/
19
Best Free Desktop Search Utility
In early 2004 there were no contenders for this title.
Today we have a wealth of choices. In a close race I
would have to say the Free Desktop Search from Yahoo!
comes out in front because of the clear way it presents
search results. It's powered by the well established X1
local search engine and can index the contents of 300
different file types including Word, Excel, PowerPoint,
PDF, Outlook, Outlook Express, HTML, text, ZIP and Adobe
PhotoShop though at the moment it will only handle email
files from Outlook, Outlook Express and Thunderbird. It
will index html files but can't index your web browsing
history. If the later is important to you, you may want
to look at Version 2 of Google desktop search. It not
only will search your web history but offers an Outlook
toolbar, integrated Gmail search and a novel desktop
sidebar that allows personalized search, news, weather,
photos and more. The Sidebar also includes a quite
effective application launcher. Some folks love the
Sidebar others, me included, find it intrusive.
Unfortunately though, to run either the Yahoo! or Google
DTS you'll need Windows 2000 or later. If you are stuck
with earlier version of Windows then try the free
Copernic Desktop Search. It offers many of the key
features as the others though the presentation of search
results is not quite as elegant as Yahoo! DTS.
http://desktop.yahoo.com
http://desktop.google.com (1.4MB)
http://www.copernic.com/en/products/desktop-search/download.html
(2.3MB)
20
Best Free Digital
Image Viewer Updated
November 18, 2005
Three good choices here. First there's the classic
IrfanView. Irfan [1] is a first class product but one
for which I have mixed feelings. That's why it's been in
and out of my "46 Best Freeware" list several times.
It's an amazingly capable product but it just doesn't
work the way I want it to. Other users though, just love
it. A product I feel more comfortable with is XNView
[2]. Like Irfan it is very versatile; it can read and
display nearly 400 types of graphic files and convert
any of these to over 50 formats. It displays pictures
very quickly and these may be viewed full screen, as
slideshows or thumbnails. It's quite capable at
processing images, too; you can adjust brightness,
color, apply filters or effects, crop photos, re-size,
convert format and more. These operations can also be
carried out from a batch file, which makes it ideal for
converting large digital photos to smaller sizes for the
web or emailing. It supports drop and drag, has many
plug-ins, is available in 44 languages and has full
cross-platform support including Mac. XNView has a lot
of similarities with IrfanView, so many in fact, that
it comes perilously close to plagiarism. Put positively,
one may say that imitation is the sincerest form of
flattery however the developer of IrfanView must feel
more than a little miffed. XNView is free for
non-commercial use, all Windows versions plus many other
platforms. The standard version for Windows is 3.3MB but
I suggest you download the complete version with all
plug-ins which weighs in at 6.8MB. My third choice and
personal favorite is FastStone Image Viewer [3]. This is
a speed demon with a zippiness in displaying images
that's reminiscent of the old ACDSee before it suffered
feature bloat. It supports all major graphic formats and
popular digital camera RAW formats as well. It's also
got good basic image editing facilities, a great slide
show and a very cute interface. Much to like here. Free
for personal use, Windows 98 and later.
[1]
http://www.irfanview.com/ (874KB)
[2]
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/pierre.g/xnview/endownloadwin32.html
(3.3MB)
[3]
http://www.faststone.org (3.0MB)
21
Best Free
Digital Image Editor
I use to recommend The Gimp but after dozens of letters
from newbies who couldn't manage to install it or work
out the idiosyncratic user interface, I've decided to
confine that recommendation to more experienced users.
If that's you and you patient enough to learn the
product's sometimes quaint ways then you have no need to
consider anything else. If you are used to Photoshop you
might like to look at GIMPShop, which changes the user
interface of GIMP to something more familiar though
frankly, I prefer the original. For other less
experienced users I have two recommendations: First
there is Paint.net, an amazingly sophisticated piece of
work from computer science students at Washington State
University. It's not quite as powerful as The Gimp but a
lot easier to use and install. It's also getting better;
the new V2.5 continues this product's impressive
development record. It is however only for Windows 2000
and later and you'll need Microsoft's bulky .NET
framework installed on your PC. My second choice is
PhotoPlus 6.0 from a company called Serif. It's an
impressive piece of work; again it installs easily and
it's loaded with features including layer support. In
fact, it looks and feels like a "lite" version of Adobe
PhotoShop except that it is relatively easy to use. I
say "relatively" because graphics editing is by its
nature, not simple. Both Paint.net and PhotoPlus are
outstanding free products. Which is the best? Easy, the
answer is ... your call ;>)
http://www.gimp.org/windows/ (7.07MB)
http://www.gimpshop.net/ (7.4MB)
http://www.eecs.wsu.edu/paint.net/ (1.1MB)
http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/software/PhotoPlus/default.asp
(19.4MB)
22
Best Free
Digital Photo Organizer
It’s rare for me to be utterly wowed by a product but
this one certainly did it. When you first run Picasa it
offers to scan your whole hard drive (or designated
locations) for photos and videos. Scanning is
surprisingly quick and when finished you’ll have all
your shots neatly organized into folders on a time line
basis. Now you can view you shots one at a time, in
slideshow or traversing the time line. The editing
features are limited compared to professional image
editors yet they provide you with every function amateur
photographers need including one click red eye
reduction. Similarly adding labels to photos is a cinch
while a simple but effective star rating system allows
you to flag favorite snaps. Individual folders can also
be password protected. Facilities are provided to import
your images from your camera in multiple formats
including RAW. You can send photos to your choice of web
printing service, cut a CD, print to a local printer or
share with others via your own blog or instant
messaging. Simply sensational. Windows 2000 or later,
300MHz Pentium with 128MB memory or better, 4.0MB.
http://www.picasa.com/
23
Best Free
Notepad Replacement
There are lots of text editors and Notepad replacements.
Some of these aspire to be programming editors while
others try to be word processors. What I love about
EditPad is that, unlike the others, it concentrates on
simply being a better plain text editor and in that
role, it succeeds brilliantly. It has a Notepad-like
interface combined with tabbed document windows, the
ability to open as many documents as you like, no file
size limitations and unlimited un-do capability. If
however you are looking for something that will also
serve as a programming editor you might like to check
out Notepad++. It's not only great for programming but
can be used as a Notepad replacement as well. It also
supports plug-ins, themes and has multi-language
support. Note that I'm not saying that Notepad++ is the
best programming editor available, that's too
controversial a category even for me ;>)
http://www.editpadlite.com/editpadlite.html (973KB)
http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm
(807KB)
24
The Best File
Archiver/Zip Utility
I checked out six utilities: QuickZip, ICEOWS, IZArc,
TUGZip, ZipGenius and 7-Zip. The product that impressed
me the most was the Open Source program 7-Zip. It was
the only product in the group that could unpack a
multi-part RAR volume embedded in a ZIP archive and the
only product to give a meaningful error message when an
attempt was made to unpack a 256bit encrypted WinZip
archive. My only reservation is that it handles fewer
archive types than some of the other products; it only
supports 7z, ZIP, CAB, RAR, ARJ, GZIP, BZIP2, Z, TAR,
CPIO, RPM and DEB . If that's really important to you
than I'd recommend IZArc. It can read nearly 50 archive
types including media formats like ISO, BIN and IMG and
can write (and convert) to 12. You couldn't go wrong
with either product. 7-Zip is a little more robust while
IZArc is a little more flexible. If you already use
WinZip you'll find either 7-Zip or IZArc make excellent
companion products. They can can read just about all the
major archive formats WinZip can't, including the widely
used RAR.
http://www.izarc.org/download.html
Windows 9x and later, 3.1MB
http://www.7-zip.org/
Windows 9x and later, 1.05MB
25
Best Free
Hotkey Utility Updated
November 18, 2005
PS Hot Launch VVL [1] is a free utility that allows you
to define your own hotkeys so that a single key press
can launch an application, insert commonly used text,
change your volume, or just about anything else.
Hotkeycontrol works on all versions of Windows and is an
excellent performer even on slow machines. A second
alternative is the qliner's free Open Source "hotkeys"
utility [2]. It's strength is its wide support for
international keyboard layouts plus a handy reminder key
that flashes up your current hotkey assignments. On the
minus side, it's not quite as flexible as PS Hot Launch
and it's only available for Windows XP. A final option
is not really a hotkey utility at all but achieves the
same result by using "magic words." SlickRun [3] places
a tiny text box on your screen and when you type
specially assigned words into the box, it will launch a
program, go to a web site or whatever. For example if
you type "mail" it can launch your mail reader. Type in
"46" and it can take you to the web page of the "46
Best-ever Freeware Utilities." Of course, it's up to you
to define these magic words and you can have as many as
you want. It all works very neatly with some really nice
touches like auto-complete for your magic words which
means you only have to type in two or three letters and
SlickRun will complete the rest. Nice too, is an
eyedropper tool that allows you to identify a program
you want to "hotkey" just by clicking in its application
window. There's also a built-in note jotter and a
calendar date display. It requires Win 98 or later.
[1]
http://www.pssoftlab.com/pshl_info.phtml (743KB)
[2]
http://qliner.com/hotkeys/ (804KB
[3]
http://www.bayden.com/SlickRun/ (168KB)
26
Best Free
Registry Cleaner Updated
November 18, 2005
To keep the registries on my PCs in top running order I
use the the registry cleaner "SystemRegistry" in the
Fix-It Utilities though many folks swear by the
Registry Cleaner in jv16
PowerTools. Both of these are commercial products
though you can still find the last free version of jv16
[1] on the web. In my mind the best registry cleaner is
one which reliably fixes problem entries but doesn't
itself cause problems in the process. The products most
likely to possess these qualities are those that are
conservative in operation and confine their cleaning to
removing definite and unambiguous errors. I say this
because I have seen as many problems created by registry
cleaners as problems solved. This view flies in the face
of many who consider, for whatever reason, that the best
registry cleaner is the one that finds the most
problems. To me such products can be dangerous and not
worth owning. That said, my recommendation is Toni
Helenius' free EasyCleaner. It's a good reliable,
conservative performer that will fix all major problem
without creating problems of its own As a bonus, it
will also detect duplicate files and help you clean up
temp files to make more disk space. Remember though, as
with every Registry cleaner, to back up your Windows
Registry before use. (2.64MB)
[1]
http://www.321download.com/LastFreeware/
[2]
http://personal.inet.fi/business/toniarts/ecleane.htm
27
Best Free BitTorrent Client
Updated
January 16,
2006
It's amazing how quickly BitTorrent has become one of
the major download formats. With good reason, too: it's
fast, equitable and efficient. If you haven't yet
installed a BitTorrent client on your PC, you should as
there are some great free clients available. I recommend
the Open Source program Azureus [1]. It's beautifully
implemented, well supported and, being Java based, is
available for multiple platforms. It's very feature rich
and supports embedded tracker so you
can host your own torrents, UPnP,
a distributed decentralized database for decentralized
torrents and DHT (Distributed Hash Table) which
distributes indexing responsibility across multiple
clients rather than relying on a single web-based
tracker plus many other features too numerous to
mention. There are also a lot of plug-ins available for
Azureus including a competent RSS feed scanner. One
downside with Azureus is that the Java code will
eat up your CPU cycles so you need a reasonably fast PC.
A good alternative is μTorrent [2] which comes in at a
tiny 130KB. It's fast, lean on resources, easy to use
and requires no installation. It formidable feature list
includes trackerless downloads, multiple simultaneous
downloads, multi-scrape, UPnP and has an inbuilt RSS
reader which is an impressive achievement for such a
tiny package . μTorrent
is being enhanced so quickly that I suspect it will soon
match or surpass Azureus.
[1]
http://azureus.sourceforge.net/ (6.4MB)
[2]
http://www.utorrent.com/ (130KB)
28
The Best Free FTP
Client
Updated
January 16,
2006
I used
WS_FTP Pro as my
principal FTP client for years.
What started out as simple and
effective product gradually with each new version became
more feature-bloated and less effective for routine
tasks. With the release of Version 9 it was clear to me
that the product had totally lost its way so I started
looking for an alternative. After trying seven different
FTP clients I decided that the best for me was the Open
Source utility FileZilla. It uses a simple layout based
on a two pane interface that looks a bit like the early
versions of WS_FTP. But this simplicity is deceptive, it
is actually a quite powerful product There's a full
featured site manager, firewall and proxy support, SSL
and Kerberos GSS security, restart, drop and drag and a
lot more. The only significant feature that's missing is
site-to-site transfer but that's of no importance to me.
What is of importance is that FileZilla is fast, totally
reliable, secure and and very easy to use. There's also
a free FileZilla FTP server which I haven't used but I
hear that it's just as good as the client. If you want a
SCP (secure copy) client for Windows that uses SSH and
offers a rich feature set you might like to try WinSCP.
It features a built-in terminal, it can launch Putty
directly, allows remotely file editing edit files,
direct transfer and transfer queuing and the ability to
limit download speed rates. Me, I'll stick with
FileZilla
http://filezilla.sourceforge.net/ (3.5MB)
29
Best Free
Bookmark Cleaner
Updated
January 16,
2006
AM-DeadLink scans your browser bookmark file for dead
links or duplicate links. When I tried it on my huge
favorites file I discovered 17% of my links were dead.
I've now got a much leaner set of favorites and the
comfort of knowing that the links actually work.
Freeware, any Windows version, Internet Explorer, Opera,
Mozilla and Firefox,
(845KB)
http://aignes.com/press/deadlink140.htm
30
Best Free
Folder Synchronization Utility
Updated
January 16,
2006
This is getting scary. First I recommend Microsoft
Antispyware as the best free spyware scanner and now I'm
going to recommend another Microsoft product as the best
in this category. Well, equal best. It's called SyncToy
v1.0 for Windows XP [1] and, as the name implies, is
only for XP - SP2. This program is more than a syncing
program; it can copy, move, rename, and delete files
between any number of folders and even computers. The
program operates on the principal of pre-defined folder
pairs. You define and name these pairs and then when you
want to perform a sync or other task, you recall one of
these pairs and carry out the operation. Syncing can be
in either direction and covers all options from complete
sync to updating newer files only. The handling of files
with changed file names is exceptional as is the backup
of overwritten files. Overall, pretty well everything
you ever wanted in a sync utility. Also highly
recommended is 2brightspark's SyncBack. It works for
Windows 98 and later and has a number of features that
SyncToy lacks such as the ability to back up using FTP.
[1]
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=E0FC1154-C975-4814-9649-
CCE41AF06EB7&displaylang=en (844KB)
[2]
http://www.2brightsparks.com/downloads.html (1.9MB)
31
Best Free
Screen Capture Utility
Two recommendations here: The first is PrintScreen. It
does exactly what I want, in the way I want and
furthermore avoids the trap of providing lots of useless
and confusing features. It's the little things that
count like making the hot key PrtSc so I don't have to
remember it, and automatically sequentially naming the
output files for multiple screen shots. A second
recommendation is Screen Hunter. It's a commercial
product but the "lite" free version is excellent,
offering more features than Gadwin at the cost of a
little added complexity. Both products work with Win 98
and later.
http://www.gadwin.com/printscreen/?prnscr (976KB)
http://www.wisdom-soft.com/products/screenhunter.htm
(381KB)
32
Best Free
Search Toolbar
Search toolbars allow users to do web searches without
having to go first to the home page of a search engine.
This really saves a lot of time. In the last year search
toolbars have become a hotly competed product class and
as result, users now have an excellent choice. The
"best" in terms of features is probably Yahoo's Toolbar
whose features include anti-spyware capabilities as well
as popup blocking. It's for Internet Explorer but they
are currently offering a beta version for Firefox. My
only beef with the Yahoo product is that I prefer to use
Google for my web searches rather than Yahoo and that's
why I use the Google Toolbar which also offers popup
blocking though no anti-spyware features. On the other
hand it includes a useful web form spell-checker and a
few other goodies not found in the Yahoo product. Google
also offers a full Firefox version as well as the
standard IE version. Some folks still like Dave’s Quick
Search Bar because it gives access to multiple search
engines. Another advantage is that it resides in your
task bar rather than your browser so it's easily
accessible from any application. Other Dave's features
include a dictionary, thesaurus, calculator and a lot of
customizability.
http://toolbar.yahoo.com/ie (3MB)
http://www.dqsd.net/ (327KB)
http://toolbar.google.com/deskbar/ (447KB)
33
Best Free
Download Manager
Updated November 18, 2005
For some time I've been recommending
Star Downloader but the freeware version has been
effectively frozen at version 1.44 with future
enhancements restricted to the shareware version. It is
however, still a fine choice. After trying half a dozen
other products, I've settled on "Free Downloader" as my
new selection. It's fast, stable and integrates well
into both Internet Explorer and Firefox though the later
will require the installation of the free FlashGot
extension. With "Free Downloader" there is no embedded
adware or nag screen and after using it for a couple of
weeks, I've decided that it's actually just as good as
Star Downloader with the advantage that it's still being
actively developed. (1.31MB).
http://www.freedownloadmanager.org/download.htm
34
Best Free Web
Site Ripper
HTTrack is one impressive product: it's easy to use, has
an excellent user interface, offers every feature you
could want, is blindingly fast and free of any adware as
well. If you like to download web sites so that you can
"browse them offline", this is the product to get. (
3.23MB)
http://www.httrack.com/
35
Best Free
Download/Upload Meter
Updated November 18, 2005
NetMeter [1] shows upload and download speeds, along
with cumulative weekly and monthly volumes and projected
values. The program reminds me in many ways of Hagel's
excellent $20 shareware product "DU
Meter." It's freeware and works with all Windows
versions. In essence, everything you really need for
nix. A good second choice if you have the Microsoft .NET
package already installed on your PC is BitMeter II from
Codebox Software [2] . It's a little more feature rich
than NetMeter but uses a tad more of your PCs resources
to deliver those features.
[1]
http://readerror.gmxhome.de/ (601KB)
[2]
http://codebox.no-ip.net/controller?page=bitmeter2
(806KB)
36
Best Free
TCP Settings Tweaker
Whether you use a modem or broadband, you'll get a
faster connection if you tweak your connection's TCP
parameters. Among the most important of these is MaxMTU
which, in simple terms, needs to be set to the largest
value possible without your data being broken up into
smaller chunks en-route. Most techies determine MaxMTU
by trial and error pinging using different packet sizes
but it's a tedious procedure and definitely not for
beginners. TCPOptimizer from SpeedGuide.net is a free
utility that will do the job for you automatically.
Furthermore, it will use this value to advise you on
your other TCP settings and then apply these values at
the press of the button. There are commercial programs
that will do much the same thing but TCPOptimizer does
it just as well and is totally free. The only minus is
the lack of in-program help. However you'll find a
useful FAQ at the SpeedGuide site. (225KB)
http://www.speedguide.net/downloads.php
http://www.speedguide.net/faq_in.php?category=100
37
Best Free File
Cleaner
I've tried quite a few commercial products designed to
clean unused, temporary and unnecessary files off your
hard disk but must say that the free utility "Empty Temp
Folders" [1] ranks with the best. It takes a few minutes
to set up but after that, just press a button to recover
many megabytes of disk space. An equally attractive
alternative is CCleaner [2]. It's a tad easier to use
though not quite as effective in removing temporary
files. Its default settings are also quite aggressive so
check the options carefully before running for the first
time. Both products may be used together for maximum
cleaning. Between them you may be surprise how much disk
space you will free up.
[1]
http://www.danish-shareware.dk/soft/emptemp (667KB)
[2]
http://www.ccleaner.com/ (403KB)
38
Best Free Resource
Meter
Updated November 18 2005
This is cute. TinyResMeter is an itsy-bitsy system
monitor. Unlike many other monitors, it doesn't consume
a lot of CPU utilization in order to tell you your CPU
utilization. In addition to CPU usage, you can
optionally monitor cache, RAM, page file and swap file
usage, running processes and threads, disk space
utilization and a number of other parameters as well.
Also built-in, is a screen grabber that saves the
current screen to disk when you press PrintScreen. How
the author fits all this into 92KB beats me. A new
version is on the way offering even more functionality.
If you are like something a little fancier than
TinyResMeter then check out StatBar. It's got more
features than you could ever want though but at the cost
of a higher resource overhead needed to run the program.
Nice product though and easy to try out as the program
doesn't require installation.
http://perso.accelance.net/~pesoft/trm/us_trm.html
(92KB)
http://www.statbar.nl/ (1.65MB)
39
Best Free
Sticky Notes Utility
Updated November 18 2005
Some people hate these programs others swear they can't
work effectively without them. I used to be in the first
category but with so many things on my plate these days,
I'm slowly being converted. The function that I find
really useful is the reminder that pops up at a
designated time and date. I use it for simple things
like "put up the latest issue on the web site." ATnotes
is a neat implementation that features configurable
alarms, resizable windows, variable fonts and a host of
other useful features. The product is remarkably similar
to the class-leading commercial sticky notes utility
called, TurboNotes,
a case perhaps of imitation being the sincerest form of
flattery. NOTE: As of the 30th of May 2005, development
work has ceased and the author's site pulled down.
However someone has built a mirror of the author's site
[1] where you can read about ATnotes and download the
final version. You can also download ATNotes from the a
number of other sites including the second link below.
If you want an alternative that is still being developed
try StickyPad. Some folks actually prefer it to ATnotes
and I must admit the interface is very slick but I find
the alarm function to be rather inflexible. It cannot
for example handle recurring events such as birthdays.
If you want that functionality you are better of with
another sticky note program called "Stickies" from Zhorn
Software. It's not quite as svelte as the other two
programs I've mentioned but it's very effective in
operation
[1]
http://atnotes.free.fr/news.html (723KB)
[2]
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,17660,00.asp
[3]
http://www.greeneclipsesoftware.com/stickypad.html
(550KB)
[4]
http://www.zhornsoftware.co.uk/stickies/ (596KB)
40
Best Free
Secure Erase Utility Updated
January 16,
2006
Eraser [1] is a free, GNU license utility that will
securely erase files, folders or even whole disks from
any Windows or DOS PC. Eraser overwrites data area with
selectable random data patterns and also wipes data in
the paging file, Internet cache, temporary files,
Internet cookies, unused disk space and a number of
other places where data can secretly lurk. It handles
FAT16, FAT32 and NTFS partitions as well. Erasing files
with high security will always be a difficult and time
consuming task and can never offer absolute 100% safety.
However Eraser makes the task about as easy as it be,
with a security level beyond most conceivable
requirements. If Eraser is overkill for your needs try
Simple File Shredder[2]. It's not as comprehensive a
solution to secure deletion as Eraser but it's much
easier to use. Another rather different alternative is
Darik's Boot and Nuke [3]. Its an Open Source program
that's used to construct a floppy disk or CD that will
automatically wipe the all hard drives of any PC booted
from the disk. It's great for bulk disk cleaning of PCs
and is useful too as an emergency tool for quickly
removing sensitive information. However this power
makes it a dangerous tool in the hands of beginners.
[1]
http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/ (2.8MB)
[2]
http://www.scar5.com/prod_sfs.php (673KB) XP only
[3]
http://dban.sourceforge.net/ (1.6MB)
41
Best Free
Registry Editor
I've used the full version of Resplendent Registry
Editor for years and have never had any reason to look
for an alternative. Recently a subscriber asked me what
was the best free registry editor and that made me
realize I've never looked at that particular product
category. The first product I checked out was Registrar
Lite, the free version of Resplendent Registry Editor
and I'd have to say it's an impressive freebie. To start
with, it works totally reliably - an essential feature
for any registry editor. On top of that, the user
interface is simple, the functionality excellent and,
perhaps most importantly, it has a really fast search. I
did, however, miss a "search and delete" option - that's
unfortunately only available on the full product. That
said, it leaves Regedit for dead. If you know a better
free registry editor, drop me an email. (2.0MB).
http://www.resplendence.com/reglite
42
Best Free Process
Viewer
PrcView has long
been my personal choice but Process Explorer has pushed
it aside. The reason? A better display setup coupled
with more features and even more information. Process
Explorer uses two vertical panes. The top contains all
active processes while the second shows either all the
handles opened by a selected process or, optimally, a
list of DLLs and memory mapped files. A very handy
search feature allows you to work backwards from named
DLLs or handles to the owning process. A gem. Freeware,
230KB.
http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/procexp.shtml
43
Best
Free System Information
Updated
January 16, 2006
The freeware utility AIDA32 was the
best system information / inventorying tool ever,
regardless of price. It documented just about every
aspect of your hardware and software configuration as
well as checking networks and providing memory
benchmarks. However the developer announced in March
2004 that the free product had been frozen and
development work shifted to another organization where
AIDA32 was re-launched as a commercial product called
Everest [1]. You can however still find the old AIDA32
at the second link below[2]. If you only need to
inventory a single PC then you should also check out
Belarc Advisor [3]. It's free for non commercial use and
while not quite as thorough as AIDA32, it has the
advantage of being actively developed. An excellent
third option and my current favorite is the SIW utility
[4] written by Gabriel Topala. It "displays detailed
specs for motherboard, BIOS, CPU, devices, memory,
video, disk drives, ports, printers, operating system,
installed programs, processes, services, serial numbers
(CD keys), users, open files, system uptime, network,
network shares, as well as real-time monitors for CPU,
memory, page file usage and network traffic. It also
displays currently active network connections, passwords
hidden behind asterisks, installed codecs, and more. "
That's impressive enough for a freebie but my favorite
feature is SIW does not need installing; all you need to
do is run the executable. This means one less installed
program on your PC as well the fact that you can run the
program directly from a USB flash drive.
[1]
http://www.lavalys.com/products.php?lang=en (4.0MB)
[2]
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download181.html (2.9MB)
[3]
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html (830KB)
[4]
http://www3.sympatico.ca/gtopala/about_siw.html
(1.2MB)
44
Best Free
Search and Replace Utility
There are several contenders for this title but
HandyFile's excellent Find and Replace program is my
favorite. It's fast, has a simple but effective user
interface and some nice features including support for
regular expressions. It started life as a free product
before going commercial however the free version is
still floating around and can be downloaded from a
number of sites including the one below. (361KB)
http://www.pcsupportadvisor.com/downloads/HFFRSetup.exe
45
Best Free
Outliner Updated November
18, 2005
I'm not a great fan of outliners - my brain doesn't work
that way. Some folks however, swear by them and if that
includes you, then you should check out Keynote, an Open
Source freeware program that has a dedicated band of
followers. Its major design attribute is its ease of
use. Words like "natural" and "seamless" come close to
the mark but really don't capture the essence of what is
really a great design. What do you do with it? Well to
quote the web site “KeyNote is used by screenwriters to
draft screenplays, by medical doctors to keep patient
databases, by developers to store source code snippets -
and to everyone it serves as a place to put all the
random pieces of information that have no particular
structure of relationship to other data, and do not fit
easily in task-specific applications such as
word-processors, databases or spreadsheets.”
Unfortunately the program is no longer being developed
but is totally usable in its current form. If you find
that a turn-off you might like to consider NeoMem as an
alternative. It's another Open Source program but is not
really a dedicated outliner rather more of a general
purpose program that can be used as an outliner. It's a
kind of hybrid of a database and word processor that's
designed to allow you to organize, store, hyperlink and
search information. That bland description totally
under-sells the product. It's one of those programs
that you really need to use in order to understand the
potential. It works with all Windows versions so try it.
[1]
http://www.tranglos.com/free/index.html (1.7MB)
[2]
http://www.neomem.org/neomem.htm (640KB)
46
Best Free
Rename Utility
If you want industrial strength file renaming there are
two great choices: First there's Lupas Rename 2000.
This is a small utility for Win 98 and later that
globally renames all the files in a directory and its
subdirectories. It can convert names to upper/lower
case, change the case of the first letter, add text,
left crop, right crop and just about anything else you
can think of. And unlike DOS based utilities, it will
work on hidden files as well. Add in a nice GUI
interface, an undo feature, full preview of changes, MP3
tag renaming, support for regular expressions and the
fact that it's free and you have an outstanding product.
The second and equally attractive option is Flexible
Renamer. It's quite similar to Lupas and choosing
between them is not easy. Lupas seems to me to be
easier to use for simply renaming files while Flexible
Renamer has the edge with tags. Flexible Renamer can
also can bulk change file attributes while Lupas can't.
It also runs without installation, a definite plus.
However if you only need a re-namer for re-labeling
digital photos and MP3 files you might like instead to
looked at a program called "THE Rename" (sic)." that's
better suited to these tasks. It's freeware and works on
all versions of Windows though usage is not very
intuitive.
[1]
http://www.azheavymetal.com/~lupasrename/download.php
(742KB)
[2]
http://hp.vector.co.jp/authors/VA014830/english/FlexRena/
(648KB)
[3]
http://www.herve-thouzard.com/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=1
(2.8MB)
47
The Best Free Digital
Image Stitcher
I use an impressive $59 commercial product called
PhotoVista Panorama to stitch together my digital
images into panoramas. I'm very happy with it but must
admit to feeling a little despondent when I discovered
this utility that works just as well and is free. It's
called AutoStitch and is the product Matthew Brown, a
PhD student at the University of British Columbia. No,
it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of PhotoVista
but the stitching to my eye, is actually better. The way
it automatically aligns haphazard mosaics of photos
without any human intervention borders on the
miraculous. The author is currently looking for a
commercial backer but in the interim, the product is
free for personal use. (1MB)
http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~mbrown/autostitch/autostitch.html
48
The Best Free
PDF Writer
The top choice here is PDFCreator, an open source
program from SourceForge that works by setting up a
pseudo printer in your system. To create a PDF you just
select the PDF "printer" and write to it. This means you
can create PDFs from Word, Excel or indeed any program
that allows you to print. A good second choice is
CutePDF Writer a which is cut-down version of the
commercial CutePDF product. It works in a similar way to
PDFCreator and it's free for both personal and
commercial use.
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=57796&package_id=53473
( 2.6MB)
http://www.cutepdf.com/products/cutepdf/writer.asp
(1.04MB)
49 Best Free
File Comparison Utility
WinMerge is a free Windows utility that compares two
files and identifies the differences. The differences
can then be merged from one file into the other. This is
the sort of product that is ideal when you have several
different versions of a file and are not sure of how
they differ. The product is geared to text files so it
won't be much use to you with Word Processing or other
complex formatted documents But for text reports or
computer programs, WinMerge is ideal. (514KB)
http://winmerge.sourceforge.net/
50 Best
Tabbed Internet Explorer Variant
Tabbed IE variants seem to be proliferating wildly and
with good reason. The one that I like most is a freeware
product called Maxthon (formerlyMyIE2). It works as a
small efficient shell that uses the IE rendering engine.
After using Maxthon for a while, Internet Explorer seem
totally out-of-date and painfully cumbersome. Don't
expect a lot of documentation but if you read the FAQ
(see below) you'll have no problems. Some folks prefer
the free Avant browser to Maxthon. It's a close call;
Avant has a cleaner look while Maxthon is more full
featured. In the last analysis it's Maxthon's ability to
accept Internet Explorer plug-ins that put it a nose in
front.
http://www.maxthon.com/en/index.htm (1.51MB)
http://maxthon.cafedeux.com/faq/
http://forum.maxthon.com/forum/index.php
http://www.avantbrowser.com/ (1.32MB)
51 Best Free
Time Correction Utility
A lot of folks have difficulty getting time correction
software to work on their PC. If that's you then you
should try Dimension 4, a free utility that gives you
the choice of connecting to a time server either by
standard TCP protocol or by the more common (and more
problem-prone) SNTP protocol. If you haven't yet got a
time correction utility, this is the one. It's free,
it’s easy to use, and it has every function that you
could conceivably want. Because it works from both the
command line and Windows, it's ideal for batch files,
too. (292KB)
http://www.thinkman.com/dimension4/
52 Best Free
Startup Manager
Everyone needs a startup program utility so they can
exercise control over what third party programs start
automatically with Windows. There are several fine
choices: The first is Mike Lin's Startup Control Panel
[1]. It’s small, and easy to use yet has powerful
features including the ability to edit or add entries. A
second and equally good choice is Nir Sofer's StartupRun
[2]. Unlike Startup Control Panel it lists all startup
programs in a single list rather than in tabs according
to location. It also has a lot more information on each
program and has extensive editing features as well which
means that it's definitely not for Newbies. Then there's
Starter [3]. It combines many of the strengths of the
other products and additionally includes a first rate
process viewer. As a bonus, it can be run directly from
the executable without installation which makes it a
handy item to have on your toolkit CD or flash drive.
Folks you are truly spoiled by choice here, each one of
these products is a winner. NOTE: It appears Starter has
become so popular that the author's website has exceeded
its download limit so I've given an alternative [4]
download link.
[1]
http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml (59KB)
[2]
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/strun.html (68KB)
[3]
http://codestuff.netfirms.com/products_starter.html
(466KB)
[4]
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/starter.html (468KB) <=
Alternate Starter download site
53 Best Free
File Backup Program
Karen's Replicator is a straight-forward backup utility
that copies individual files, folders and even entire
drives to another location. The backup can be on another
partition, local drive, network drive or removable
device. Its key feature is the ability to schedule
automatic backups so that you can make regular automatic
backups of critical files. I use it to make hourly
backups of the file containing my notes for future
issues of my newsletter. Simple, effective and free. It
can't be compared though to the best commercial backup
programs which offer many more features combined with
more robust performance. (1.4MB)
http://www.karenware.com/powertools/ptreplicator.asp
http://www.backup-software-reviews.com/ <= reviews
of commercial backup programs
54 Best Free
NFO Viewer
Many freeware files are distributed with descriptive NFO
and DIZ files as part of the distribution package. These
are just plain text files so you can view them with
Notepad or other text editor but often the formatting is
lost. Try this tiny little viewer that's built for the
job. It's free and once associated with the NFO and DIZ
file types, works seamlessly, a true "install and
forget" product.
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Office-tools/Text-editors/DAMN-NFO-Viewer.shtml
55 Best Free
Data Recovery Utility
PC Inspector File Recovery 3 is a free utility that does
an impressive job recovering accidentally deleted files
or files lost through corruption of the file system. It
has some nice features, like the ability to recover
files with lost headers, and to recover partitions even
when the boot sector has been lost or damaged. It works
with the FAT16/FAT32 and NTFS file systems. This is no
home written utility - it is a serious product from a
reputable German company with a long history in
commercial data recovery. PCI is the ideal product for
those who want the security of a data recovery program
but are not prepared to fork our big bucks for the extra
features of high end products. (2.8MB)
http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/uk/welcome.htm
56 Best Free
Remote Access Software
Updated November 18, 2005
There are several good choices here all of which are
variants of the classic AT&T VNC program. A short list
would include RealVNC, TightVNC, EsVNC and Ultr@VNC.
Each has its merits but my top pick goes to Ultr@VNC as
because of its active development, good forum support
and an excellent encryption plug-in. Ultr@VNC [1] is a
client/server package that allows remote control of
another PC using any TCP/IP connection. It works with
Windows W9x/NT/2K/XP and offers all the features you
need including auto-configuration, easy user interface,
extensive hotkeys and embedded file transfer. Add to
that the fact that it's free, secure, reliable and
reasonably speedy and you have a winner. Just the thing
for accessing your home PC while traveling, off-site
troubleshooting or general network administration. An
alternative to VNC based products is the free version of
the commercial remote access product LogMeIn [2]. This
is a web based service that's extremely easy to set up
and use and can be accessed from any PC with a browser.
The free version won't allow file transfer and remote
printing but is a great solution for accessing your
remote data as well as file sharing. Registration is
required.
[1]
http://ultravnc.sourceforge.net/
[2]
https://secure.logmein.com
57 Best Free
PIM
I don't think there's anything outstanding in this
category but there are still some solid choices. First,
there's Sunbird. It's small, resource efficient and has
a really neat feature that displays on your desktop your
to-do list for the day. If you want more features still,
check out EssentialPIM. It does many of the same things
as Outlook and will import your Outlook data as well.
Linux/Gnome users of course have an excellent free PIM
in the form of Evolution. The good news is Evolution is
being ported to Windows. Personally, I can't wait.
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/sunbird.html
(6.5MB)
http://www.ipi.fi/~rainy/index.php?pn=projects&project=rainlendar
(717KB)
http://www.essentialpim.com/ (1.2MB)
http://www.gnome.org/projects/evolution/
58 Best Free
Windows Driver Backup
I used to recommend WinDriversBackup for this task but
it has now, unfortunately, morphed into shareware. The
last freeware version is however, still available [1]
and it works well. As an alternative you could consider
WinRet [2]. It will not only back up your drivers but
also your system registry, program settings and
preferences, shortcuts, Favorites, Outlook Express
folders, accounts and message filters as well. As a
bonus, it allows you to tweak some of your system
settings. I didn't try the latter but can report that
the driver backup and restore worked well. It's not
quite as simple to use as WindriversBackup but, then
again, it has much more functionality. (227KB)
[1]
http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Reviews/r792.html
[2]
http://winret.sourceforge.net/
59 Best Free
Program Un-installer
The Windows Add/Remove Programs applet in the control
panel constantly annoys me with its limitations. I've
been looking around for some time for a replacement that
provides more information about installed programs and
more functionality. Well I've hit the jackpot.
MyUninstaller is a free program that works just like the
Windows Add or Remove Programs applet but is a much more
capable product than the Windows version. It gives you
much more information about each installed program
including product name, company, version, uninstall
string, installation folder and Windows Registry
details. It also allows you to delete orphaned and
obsolete entries from the list as well as the ability to
save a list of all installed applications into a text
file or HTML. As no installation is required, it can be
run from a CD or USB drive which makes it an excellent
addition to your diagnostic toolkit. Once you've used
this program, you'll never use the Windows un-installer
again. (40KB)
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/myuninst.html
60 Best Free
Internet Accelerator
Updated November 18, 2005
In a surprise move Google released in early May a beta
version of a new product called the Google Web
Accelerator (GWA). Unlike most other accelerators which
provide caching on your own PC, the GWA utilizes caching
on Google's own dedicated web servers to accelerate
browsing. On top of that it uses a number of other
techniques to speed thing up including compressing html
pages and pre-fetching links. The WGA program
automatically installs itself into the Internet Explorer
and Firefox browsers and can be manually configured to
work with other browsers. To protect user privacy the
accelerator does not function during connections to
secure sites such as internet banking. Does it work? You
bet with most users myself included, reporting
improvements of 10-40% in browsing speeds. There are
however some caveats: First the product is only
available for Windows XP or Windows 2000 SP3+. Second
the product is optimized for broadband use and modem
users may experience little or no gain. Third the system
is currently working best within the USA and Europe and
users located in other areas will only receive a partial
benefit. Fourth there are some potential privacy issues
involved so all users should closely read what Google
has documented on the subject. Personally I don't have a
problem but others mileage may vary. Finally some
webmasters have been scare mongering with reports that
the GWA pre-fetching function can cause all buttons on a
web page to be automatically pressed including things
like "delete my subscription." I've looked it this and
frankly, every case I've seen has been due to very
sloppy web coding. However if you want to be super
cautious then I suggest you simply disable the GWA for
any page that uses forms and buttons. Personally I think
it's a storm in a tea cup. These reservations aside this
is a terrific product. It provides for nix almost all of
the benefits of expensive commercial web acceleration
services like Propel.
http://webaccelerator.google.com/
http://webaccelerator.google.com/support#basics2 <=
FAQ
61 Best Free
Windows Toolbar Backup
Inexperienced PC users just always seem to be losing
their Windows and Internet Explorer toolbars. I've never
quite worked out exactly how they do it but they sure
manage it somehow. Luckily, this free utility makes
recovery a snap.
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/ToolbarRepair.Exe
62 Best Free
Encryption Utility for Personal Use at Work
Camouflage is a free utility that will hide your
personal or confidential files within another file. The
neat thing is that the container file looks and works
like a normal file of that format. So, by way of
example, you could embed a secret message in a Word file
which could be opened by anyone and appear to be just a
normal Word file. The intended recipient could use their
copy of Camouflage to open the file, enter the password
and extract the embedded information. This free program
is not intended to provide military strength protection
but rather a convenient way to sneak information past
unnecessarily prying eyes. Note: It looks like the
author's web site is down, however you can download
Camouflage from the other links below. (2.65MB)
http://arxspace.com/Camouflage/
http://camouflage.unfiction.com/
http://webmasterfree.com/software/996.html
63 Best Free
CD Catalogue Organizer
I don't really have a need for this kind of product but
if you do then you'll be interested in this excellent
suggestion from subscriber David Killian Woods. "Disclib
is a terrific utility. I archive all of my projects to
CD/DVD and keep them in a fireproof box for storage. But
there are over 30 full discs now (half are DVDs), and
many of them have multiple versions of the same project.
Disclib keeps an index of the file/directory structure
of every disc, so I can search through them all without
having to swap 30 discs in my drive! Invaluable! Thanks
for that David, nice find. (1.75MB.)
http://www.lyrasoftware.com/disclib/
64
Best Free File
Encryption Utility
This is what the web site says: "dsCrypt is AES/Rijndael
file encryption software with simple, multi-file,
drag-and-drop operations. It features optimal
implementation, performance and safety measures.
dsCrypt uses an advanced encryption algorithm and offers
unique options for enhanced security." To that I'll add
the fact that it's tiny, easy to use, has open code,
employs proven techniques that are essentially
unbreakable and comes from a highly reputable source. In
summary, dsCrypt offers the average user everything they
want in a simple file encryption program and it's free.
That's why I use it myself. Equally impressive is an
Open Source program called AxCrypt. It t provides secure
AES-128 encryption using passwords or key-files, which
AxCrypt can generate. Usage is wonderfully simple; to
encrypt files or folders just right-click them and
select "encrypt." while double clicking on encrypted
files lets you edit or view them with the program of
your choice. Closing any open files automatically
re-encrypts.
http://freezip.cjb.net/freeware/ <=dsCrypt (25KB)
http://axcrypt.sourceforge.net/ <=AxCrypt (1.02MB).
65
Best Free Drive
Encryption Utility
TrueCrypt is an
open-source utility which enables you to create
encrypted "virtual drives" of almost unlimited size,
where you can securely store files and keep them away
from prying
eyes. TrueCrypt offers a wide range of encryption
algorithms, including the option to encrypt with
multiple algorithms, as well as "plausible deniability"
for the benefit of the truly paranoid. The program is
very stable (although backups are obviously
recommended). Newbies might find the program a bit
daunting at first; however, more experienced users who
want serious virtual drive encryption would be hard-put
to find a better program. Great for protecting your data
on USB flash drives too. Freeware, Windows XP, 641KB.
http://www.truecrypt.org/
66
Best Free
Non-Adobe PDF Reader
Sick to death of Adobe's slow, bloated PDF Reader? If so
then check out the Foxit Reader. It's small, loads in
flash, supports bookmarks, has search capability, offers
many views and runs on any version of Windows. On top of
that it can print PDFs as well. It runs without
installation too, so it's ideal for your toolkit CD or
USB flash drive. Freeware, all Windows versions, 915KB.
http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php
67
Best Free Disk
De-fragmenter Updated
January 16, 2006
My top recommendation here is Diskeeper Lite [1], an
older free version of Executive Software's current
commercial Diskeeper product. It works very well indeed
given that it is V7 while the current commercial product
is at V10 but I've had a few complaints from
subscribers about the annoying nag screen. I have no
magic fix for this but there are other free defraggers
worth considering. SysInternals, for example, offers "Contig"
[2], a robust, free, command line utility which defrags
one file at a time. It's a pain to use but eXcessive
software has built an excellent user interface [3] for
Contig that turns it into a thoroughly usable product.
Also to be considered is "BuzzSaw" [4], a real-time
defragger that works away in the background to ensure
your files are always defragged. Personally I think this
is overkill and not as effective as a total disk defrag.
To this end, the folks who wrote BuzzSaw offer another
utility, "DirMS" [4], that does a full defrag. This can
be used periodically in concert with BuzzSaw to provide
excellent defragmentation. It can be used alone though
the free version is a command line utility that's not
very user friendly. "AutoIt 3"[5], a free utility that
provides a graphic free interface for DirMS. It works
very well indeed though note that it requires version
1.2.20 of DirMS. All products here are for Windows NT
and later. Update: Thanks to Vashek Weis for
letting me know about how you can get version 9 of
Diskeeper Lite. It forms part of Intel's large (89MB)
Desktop Utilities package which is available from the
Intel site [6]. If you unzip the file you'll find
Diskeeper V9 Lite in the folder ../3rdparty/Diskeeper/.
Neither the readme file or the License
Agreement prohibit downloading and using this program on
a single computer so it appears to be a perfectly
legitimate way to obtain the program.
[1]
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Diskeeper_Lite_d1207.html
(12.1MB)
[2]
http://www.sysinternals.com/utilities/contig.html
(26KB)
[3]
http://www.excessive-software.tk/" (397KB)
[4]
http://www.dirms.com/BuzzSaw (37KB), DirMS (81KB)
[5]
http://www.wolfgang-fuehrer.de/wwf_dirmsgui_en.htm
(125KB)
[6]
http://www.intel.com/design/motherbd/software/idu/
68
Best Free
Dictionary/Thesaurus Utility
Updated November 18, 2005
I've been using WordWeb [1] for a while now and have
seen enough to say this will be one of the rare
utilities I review that ends up staying on my PC. So
what does it do? Well, it's not a spellchecker so let's
get that out of the way. If that's what you want, check
the next item below. Rather, WordWeb is an enhanced
dictionary and thesaurus. I say "enhanced" because it
does some tricky extra things like showing only the
relevant synonyms and related words according to whether
they are noun, verb, adjective or adverb. It can also
find words by pattern match or dictionary adjacency.
Usage is simple; just select a word in any document and
click the WordWeb tray icon. Immediately you'll get a
popup with the word's meaning and synonyms. Overall, it
works efficiently and elegantly to help you find the
just right word to use in your written reports. WordWeb
is free for personal use and a Pro version with an
enhanced dictionary costs a mere $19 and is well worth
buying. An equally attractive alternative to WordWeb is
TheSage [2] from Sequence Publishing. Like WordWeb, it's
a comprehensive dictionary with over 140,000 references
together with a powerful thesaurus. It differs in that
it is free even for commercial use and offers a couple
of features missing from the free version of WordPro
such as anagram solving and wildcard word matches. On
the minus side, WordPro allows you to find meanings and
synonyms in any application just by double clicking the
word; with TheSage you have to cut and paste it into the
application after you've launched it from its task bar
icon. Picking a winner here is too hard. Try both and
decide for yourself. Both products work with Windows 95
and later.
[1] http://wordweb.info/
(6.96MB)
[2]
http://www.sequencepublishing.com/thesage.html
(8.3MB)
69
Best Free
Spell-Checker
This is an impressive little utility that checks
individual words on a correct-as-you-type basis, from
clipboard contents or from a query box. The provided
dictionary is not enormous but more than adequate for
normal usage and you can also add words to the
dictionary as needed. Resource usage seems modest and
the product can be easily enabled/disenabled from the
taskbar icon. It has one odd feature; the dictionary has
both American and English spelling so words like "color"
and "colour" both show as correct. Overall, it's quite a
solid product and an excellent companion to WordWeb.
Freeware, Win98 and later, 547KB.
http://tinyspell.m6.net/
70
Best Free
Audio Editing Software
Thanks to subscriber Jay Eitelman for this suggestion:
"Gizmo, I've switched from using Adobe Audition to using
Audacity. It does all the recording and editing I need,
and is much
simpler/faster to use. Check out the noise reduction -
it even allows you to select a noise profile - then
remove the profile - just like Audition. " Thanks Jay. I
note that, according to the
web site, Audacity will also "record live audio, convert
tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs, edit
Ogg Vorbis, MP3, and WAV sound files, cut, copy, splice,
and mix sounds together and change the speed or pitch of
a recording." Pretty impressive for a freebie. Free Open
Source, Windows 98 and later (plus MAC and Linux), 2.4
MB
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/about/
71
Best Free Web
Form Filler/Password Manager
Updated November 18, 2005
Products in this class are among the most useful of all
PC utilities because they allow you to complete the
common task of filling in web forms and logins by simply
clicking a button. They work by saving user IDs,
passwords and other information needed for individual
sites in encrypted form for later retrieval. To login to
a site you only have to type in a single master password
to allow retrieval of the specific password information
for that site. This information is then used by the
program to automatically login. This greatly improves
security by allowing different passwords to be assigned
to individual sites without the need to be remembered
while at the same time making logging in easier and
quicker. There's no doubt that RoboForm [1] is the
stand-out product in the category; it's full featured,
easy to use, seamlessly
integrated into both Internet Explorer and FireFox
browsers and is constantly being enhanced by the
developer. It also allows your saved passwords to be
moved between PCs which is very convenient when using
multiple machines or upgrading. I do have a major
reservation though: The free version allows only 10
forms or passwords to be stored. This used to be 30 in
earlier versions which was adequate but 10 is way too
few for most users and they will be eventually forced to
shell out $29.99 to buy the full product. This
reservation aside, it is a fabulous product that saves
me time every day. Try it. You'll be amazed how much
time it will
save you, too. Note: If you use Internet Explorer,
there's some good news: the last free version of
RoboForm (V4.6.8) that allowed 30 passwords is still
floating around the web [2] and works perfectly well.
FireFox users are out of luck as you can't use this
version with
the current FireFox. Don't despair, though you have two
other alternatives. First there is the open source
program Keepass [3]. It's not nearly as well integrated
into your browser as RoboForm but it's a very good
product that works without any limitations at all. Yet
another possibility is KeyWallet [4] which is superior
to KeePass in the way you can drag and drop saved
information directly into web forms. Not quite as neat
as RoboForm’s click and fill system but still highly
effective. KeyWallet can also automatically save form
data, handle difficult Java based forms and is skinable.
[1]
http://www.roboform.com/
[2]
http://www.321download.com/LastFreeware/page7.html#AI%20RoboForm
[3]
http://keepass.sourceforge.net/features.php (857KB)
[4]
http://www.keywallet.com/ (1.4MB)
72
Best Free File
Un-delete Utility Updated
November 18, 2005
I'm recommending two utilities here, each covering a
different situation. The best freeware program I've
found for recovering already deleted files is Brian
Kato's Restoration [1]. It works with FAT and NTFS file
structures and runs on any version of Windows from 95
onwards. As a bonus, it requires no installation which
means you can run it from a USB drive, CD or floppy. In
fact, that's exactly where you should run it from as
installing it on your hard drive will reduce your chance
of successfully recovering your deleted files. Below
you'll find a link to Brian's web site in Japan but I've
also give a direct download link [2] from the Snapfiles
download site. If you want to protect your computer
from future accidental deletions, check out
SysInternals' Fundelete. It overcomes the annoying
limitation in the Windows Recycle Bin that only allows
you to recover files deleted from within Windows
Explorer. Fundelete allows you to recover just about all
deleted files including files deleted in applications.
[1]
http://www.geocities.jp/br_kato/ 162KB)
[2]
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/restoration.html <=
Alternate link to[1] above
[2]
http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/Fundelete.html
(994KB)
73
Best Free
Outlook Express Backup
This free utility allows you to do a full or selective
backup of OE's critical files including mail folders,
newsgroups, address book and identity settings. Simple,
effective ... neat. (2.1MB)
http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx
74
Best Free Outlook
Add-in
I hate opening HTML email. Despite multiple layers of
protection I just know that one day some cunning new
exploit is going to get me. That's why I'm so
enthusiastic about PocketKnife Peek, a small free
Outlook 2002 add-in that allows you to preview your HTML
email as text. RealAccount is another freeware add-in
for MS Outlook 2002 and later that allows you to
designate a default email account and signature for any
Outlook Folder. The program is a late beta but has
proved totally stable on my Windows XP Pro PC. Yet
another free utility that provides functionality that
should have been included in the original product.
http://www.xintercept.com/pkpeek.htm (520KB)
http://www.realpopup.it/realaccount/ (338K)
75
Best Free
Timesheet Program Updated
November 18, 2005
This is a very lucrative class of programs and
consequently the very best programs are unfortunately,
commercial products. The best of the free programs is
"Timesheets Lite" [1] from Moving Target Software. It's
actually an older "lite" version of that company's full
featured $29 shareware product. Its main limitation is
that only one person can be connected to the
program's database at any one time. That aside,
Timesheets Lite has all the features needed for anyone
who bills on a time or project basis. It can also export
timesheet data to Excel for
easy invoicing. I found much to like in this product and
can give it my hearty recommendation. If you want an
alternative consider Timesheets Express Free. The free
version is limited to a single account but if you can
live with this it's worth checking out. The vendors web
site [2] doesn't currently offer the free version but
it's readily available from a number of download sites
[3].
[1]
http://www.timesheetsmts.com/freesoftware.htm 4.68MB
[2]
http://www.acksen.com/25euro/ProductsTimesheetsExpressFree.asp
[3]
http://www.download.com/Timesheets-Express-Free/3000-2076_4-10442986.html
(5.1MB)
76
Best Free CD
Recovery Utility
It's pretty common to encounter unreadable CDs. The
causes are many, ranging from simple scratches through
to partially written sessions. ISOBuster is free utility
that will allow you extract any usable information on
the CD (or DVD) to your hard drive. It works by
bypassing Windows and talking directly to the hardware.
As an added bonus it can read old sessions, decode
multiple image file formats, recover data from quick
formatted DVDs and a host of other useful data recovery
features. You can use most of the functions in ISOBuster
for free but it will cost you $25.96 to enable some of
the advanced functions such as recovering data from MAC
UDF or HFS(+) file systems. Windows 95 and later, 2.5MB.
http://www.smart-projects.net/isobuster/
77
Best Free Application Minimizer
TrayIt! impressed me with
its combination of simplicity and effectiveness. First,
it requires no installation; just double click the
program file and it's up and running. Second, it can
minimize open windows to the tray either temporarily or
permanently with just one click. Third, it handles
"difficult" windows such as skins, with ease. Fourth, it
works with all versions of Windows. Fifth, it's a tiny
45KB! Finally, it's free. A little gem.
http://www.teamcti.com/trayit/trayit.htm
78
Best Free Parental Filter
I've had quite a few requests for a recommendation in
this category. Alas, there are not a lot of free
contenders in this very commercial product class and I
must be honest and say that what is available is largely
unimpressive. Perhaps the best is iProtectYou V3. This
is an early version of a commercial product now at V7.
Unlike the current version, V3 offers you the choice of
a free "Basic" installation. iProtectYou allows parents
to control access to a wide range of different kind of
web sites, newsgroups, chat sessions, IM conversations
and ads based on the occurrence of certain key words.
You have the option of blocking using an inbuilt keyword
database or defining your own. Individual web sites and
ports can also be blocked or specifically permitted.
Access to all settings is password protected. Parents
can also examine log files of computer activities. On
testing, iProtectYou worked well enough but suffered the
usual problems associated with this kind of software
such as falsely blocking some standard sites like
CNet.com and being easily bypassed by anyone who is tech
savvy. It also interfered with the downloading of email
on my test PC if any emails in the stream contained
offensive material. Overall, it sort of works and while
it is arguably the best free product out there, I can
hardly endorse it. I do appreciate the pressing need
many parents feel to protect their children from
unsolicited offensive material. If this is really
important to you, I suggest you look at the
class-leading commercial filter program Cybersitter [1]
and its competitor CyberPatrol [2]. Both are better
products than any of the freebies I tested, though still
imperfect. Yes, iProtectYou V3 will do the job for free
but way less effectively so what's the point in that?
Note that version 3 is no longer available from the
vendor's site but is available from a number of download
sites [3]. Freeware, Windows 98 and later, 2.8MB
[1]
http://www.cybersitter.com/
[2]
http://www.cyberpatrol.com/
[3]
http://www.snapfilespro.com/gnomeapp.php?id=105324
79
Best Free
Route Tracer
3D Traceroute graphically displays Internet route
information. You can use it for technical tasks such as
diagnosing slow connections or for general purpose
snooping like determining the location and owner of a
web site or tracing spammers. (1.6MB)
http://www.d3tr.de/
80
Best Free
Browser Scrubber
There's no doubt that when you browse the web you
accumulate huge amount of stored data. The sheer
quantity is surprising; often gigabytes. A lot of this
is just junk while other parts can be useful. Just what
is and what isn't junk is a personal decision. For
example, I regard the information stored in my browser's
history as a valuable resource but I know a lot folks
see it as clutter or even an embarrassment. That's why
the flexibility to choose exactly what you want to keep
or delete is a key requirement in any browser cleaning
utility. It's in this area that CleanCache excels. Yes,
there are a few other cleaner programs that also offer
this but when you take into account CleanCache's speed,
ease of use, automation features, near- forensic
thoroughness and the fact that it works with Internet
Explorer, IE Clones such as Avast, Firefox and Opera,
then you have a clear winner in this category. Note that
it requires the 26MB Microsoft .NET Framework to be
installed on your PC. Freeware, Windows 2000 and later,
1.3 MB
http://www.buttuglysoftware.com/CleanCache3.html
81
Best Free
Instant Messaging Client
If you're like me, then you probably have friends and
family using a variety of IM networks. One way to talk
with people on each one of these networks is to open an
account for each and then download and install each IM
client on your computer. However, running four different
IM applications on your computer uses a lot of system
resources, is difficult to manage, and broadens your
attack surface. Therefore, I would recommend using a
multi-protocol IM client. These applications not only
allow you to connect to multiple IM networks, but they
are also advertisement free, more secure, and have
features that allow you to easily manage your various IM
accounts.
I have been using Trillian Basic [1] since its infancy.
It is a great application and supports the AIM, ICQ,
IRC, MSN, and Yahoo networks and remains a top choice.
However, during this evaluation, I have decided that IM2
Messenger [2] may have the edge on Trillian Basic if you
only need to connect to the aforementioned IM networks.
Its interface is much cleaner and easier to use and it
supports video messaging (in addition to text and voice
messaging). Now, if you're a power user and want support
for more networks and the ability to add features via
plug-ins, then definitely check out Miranda Instant
Messenger [3]. In addition to the networks supported by
IM2, it has native support for Gadu-Gadu and Jabber (it
also will connect to the Google Talk network with a
little plug-in tweaking!). Its interface is minimalist,
but the application is very extensible through the use
of plug-ins. Miranda IM is now my IM client of choice!
NOTE: The IM2 site is down at the moment so
here's
an alternate link.
[1]
http://www.ceruleanstudios.com/learn/ Windows 98 and
later, 8.6MB
[2] http://www.im2.com/
Windows 98 and later, 2.9 MB
[3]
http://www.miranda-im.org/ Windows 95 and later, 943
KB+
82
Best Free
Video Editor
New!
Added January 16, 2006
Subscriber Jim Nix writes "Gizmo this Christmas season I
became in need of a video editor. I discovered my copy
of Adobe Premiere 5.1 LE did not allow for gamma,
brightness or contrast adjustment. I checked your “Best
46 Freeware” listings and found no video editor. If you
have considered adding such a category I suggest you
consider VirtualDub [1] which is outstanding. The
package is however not complete without the additional
filters. A comprehensive collection of third party
filters is available from an Italian site [2] - just
click on the “TELECHARGER ICI” button to download the
complete set of filters (RAR pack). Once all the filters
are installed, delete the “PCVideo Image Processor”
filter as the installation instructions are missing a
step. Thank you Jim. I'm not a video sort of guy but
I've checked out VirtualDub and it's an impressive Open
source package that is regularly updated by its author.
Note however that it won't handle DVD or MP4 and like
all video software, needs a pretty fast PC. Freeware,
Windows 95 or later, 958KB.
[1]
http://www.virtualdub.org/
[2]
http://milafat.free.fr/vdfilters.htm
[3]
http://sourceforge.net/projects/virtualdub <=
download link
