www.jstechs.com > Recommended
Freeware



The following are programs that I am using, or have used, and would
recommend. Items marked with an (+) are highly recommended for most computers.
Antivirus -
+Running an antivirus program is defiantly a good idea, but running more than one is not recommended as this can cause conflicts.- Avast! Home
Edition - Freeware antivirus software with automatic updates.
- AVG Free
- Freeware antivirus software with automatic updates.
- McAfee AVERT Stinger -
Stand-alone antivirus removal utility updated periodically, especially when a new virus
hits.
AntiSpyware/Adware -
- +SpywareBlaster - Prevents
the installation of ActiveX-based spyware, adware, browser hijackers, and other
potentially unwanted pests.
- +Ad-Aware
- Adware scanner and remover.
- Spybot-S&D -
Spyware scanner and remover, plus realtime protection.
- Microsoft AntiSpyware
- CWShredder
- Removes the CoolWWWSearch and several other browser hijacks.
Security-Other -
- +Sygate
Personal Firewall - Free software firewall.
Utilities -
- ERUNT - Registry backup and
optimization.
- EVEREST
Home Edition - Freeware system information, system diagnostics and
benchmarking.
- CCleaner - Freeware system
optimization tool that removes unused and temporary files from your system allowing it to
run more efficiently and giving you more hard disk space.
- ReNamer - Small and flexible tool for renaming a batch of files. It offers all the standard renaming procedures, including prefixes, suffixes, replacements, case changes; it can also remove brackets, add number sequences, remove digits or symbols and change file extensions. - Author's Site
- BurnCDCC - Freeware utility used to burn an ISO file to a CD/DVD disc.
- Sysinternals - I recommend
Sysinternals in general as they have numerous outstanding freeware utilities.
General -
- Mozilla Firefox - Fast and
secure alternative to Internet Explorer.
- OpenOffice - A free office
suite fully compatible with MS office files.
- EditPad Lite - Freeware general text editor allows you to open as many files as you want in tabs, search and replace, unlimited undo and redo and line numbering. Makes a great HTML editor.
- Notepad++ - Just like EditPad Lite but with excellent syntax highlighting
- FileZilla - Fast and
reliable Open Source FTP client with lots of useful features and an intuitive
interface.
- SpellCheck - A vb
script that uses office spellchecker to check the contents of the clipboard, give
correction options, and place the corrected text in the clipboard for pasting.
- PrimoPDF- Freeware allows you
to create a PDF from any Windows application.
- IZArc35 -
Freeware Stuffit alternative.
- Convert -
Converts between hundreds of units of measurement.
Image viewing/editing -
- IrfanView - Great image
viewer and basic editor, with support for Photoshop filters.
- The Gimp - Advanced image editing
and manipulation. Alot like Photoshop, but free.
NOTE: Install this first, then this.
- Picasa
- Photo viewer and organizer from Google, with color enhancements and effects.
- ColorPix
- A useful little app that will let you grab the color values and screen coordinates at any pixel on your screen and copy their value to your clipboard in a number of different formats.
Audio -
- iTunes- Freeware
digital-jukebox software from Apple. For Windows and MAC.
- Audacity - Freeware
audio editor. Allows you to view and edit audio tracks including mp3s.
- SoundEngine - Another good free audio editor in some ways better than Audacity, but it can only edit WAVs.
Other -
- Google Earth- With a reasonably
new computer and a high-speed internet connection you can browse seamless satellite
imagery of the entire earth on your desktop.
