Home | Recommended Freeware

Some 3rd Party Freeware I Use Some freeware programs by others that I use regularily Mozilla Firefox I've been using this as my web browser since it was still a Beta version as Firebird. I've become a fan of it's built-in popup blocking as well as the tabbed browsing. Some of the add-ins people have written are really useful as well. Winamp In a world of bloated media players, Winamp manages to stay lean and powerful. Newer versions have better tools for managing large collections. I have a few minor complaints, but overall I really like using Winamp for playing music and videos. POPFile POPFile is an amazing e-mail classification tool. It uses algorithms that 'learn' to classify e-mail spam from your regular e-mail with about 98-99% accuracy. It sits as a POP3 proxy between your mail server and e-mail reader to filter and classify messages before they show up in your inbox. Google Earth Sometimes a map and address just isn't enough, you need to see for yourself. Google Earth makes viewing satellite imagery of places quick and easy. Sygate Personal Firewall (discontinued) My computer is behind a hardware router, but I like to have control over which programs (Microsoft included) are allowed to 'phone home'. This software firewall gives good control over applications, isn't overly dumbed-down, and also keeps detailed logs. FileZilla For uploading and downloading files via FTP from my web hosts, I use FileZilla. No reason to try another. Paint.NET Respectable image editing program. A good alternative if you don't like Gimp (which has an awful interface). Crimson Editor Pretty good editor for things like PHP, but it supports a large number of formats. It's a comfortable editor for those used to VisualStudio, has most of the same text editor functionality. KeePass All you need to keep track of all those usernames and passwords when you create accounts at various websites. One of the perks about KeePass is there's a Linux version available, which is useful is you're dual-boot. TrueCrypt Basically allows you to create a secure file that acts like a disk drive. A good place to store sensitive or personal files, especially on a laptop when travelling. UltimateZip Free alternative to WinZip. Supports most compression formats including GZIP, RAR, ACE, TAR, ARJ, and of course ZIP. I don't use it as much due to XP's built-in zip tools, but it still comes in handy on occasion. DVD Shrink Kids/roommates keep carelessly trashing your DVD's? Got a DVD burner? DVD Shrink lets you easily backup your DVD's, or create 'disposable' copies for others to scratch the heck out of. ClamWin Anti-Virus One of the less intrusive anti-virus programs I've tried. I prefer to rely on common sense rather than resource hogging continual scanning. I'll run this and some other tools peridically. 1-4a Rename Fairly powerful tool for renaming multiple files. Really useful if you download a lot of files.