Recommended Freeware

Antivirus -

• 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.