Kristen's Picks: Best Free Software for PCs with Windows XP & Vista
Content Updated January 23, 2008
I've been testing all the freeware so you don't have to. Here are my favorites.
Gift Idea
Download free software and put it on a CD or DVD. Decorate it with a nice label and give it to loved ones who aren't computer savvy enough to find, download, and install all the software themselves. You can even offer free installation services by personally installing the software for them.
Best Free Firewalls
Sunbelt Kurio Personal Firewall
It doesn't come with every bell or whistle but it does an excellent job of protecting your system.
Comodo Free Firewall
Comodo Free Firewall is impressive. Like most firewalls, at first, it's a bit annoying because it keeps asking you if you want to let xyz program access the Internet, but as it learns, it does it's job quietly in the background.
NetVeda Safety.Net
Safety.Net is an excellent firewall with advanced features, like timers, that can help keep your kids' Internet use under control.
Best Free Virus Scanners
No single program can catch everything, so it is best to have at least a couple. Make sure at least one program has real-time protection (i.e. it runs continually, catching problems immediately rather than only during system scans).
Alwil Avast
Avast is my favorite. (For those of you who have called or emailed me about which virus scanner I recommend, this was the one I was talking about.) It updates nicely. It's easy for beginners to figure out, and it does it's job well. Plus, it monitors programs like instant messengers, email, peer to peer, and web surfing.
Grisoft AVG Anti-Virus
AVG Anti-Virus is a good program, but the interface isn't very pretty and can be a bit confusing for beginners. Its resident protection doesn't seem to catch as many items as Avast, but its full scanning has caught viruses that expensive paid virus scanners missed. I like to do a full scan with it once per week.
Avira AntiVir
Avira AntiVir is another good program with a good interface, and it even detects and deletes rootkits, but it can be a bit too sensitive, alerting you frequently for unknown programs that aren't viruses, and it doesn't scan email.
Best Free Spyware / Adware / Malware Scanners
No single program can catch everything, so it is best to have at least a couple. It's important that at least one of the programs you choose has real-time protection (i.e. it runs continually, catching problems immediately rather than only during full system scans).
ThreatFire
ThreatFire catches malware that hasn't even entered malware databases yet because it looks for suspicious behavior rather than just comparing a programs properties to database. It's a must-have program, but it's best to combine it with a program that also scans your computer for known threats (such as one of the other programs on this list).
Windows Defender
I must say I'm quite impressed by Windows Defender. It's a good basic program that catches lots of potential problems.
Spyware Terminator
Spyware Terminator is best for inexperienced users because it has a user-friendly interface.
SpyBot
SpyBot is open-source software. It's not very pretty, and it's not very easy for inexperienced users, but it does a good job for real-time protection.
AVG Anti-Spyware
The free version of AVG Anti-Spyware doesn't have real-time protection, but it does an excellent job of catching problems during manual full scans, much better than other free scanners and many paid scanner. Run it once a week.
Lavasoft Ad-Aware
Ad-Aware was the first of the adware scanners, and it's still one of the best. The free version doesn't have real-time protection though, so you'll need to set up your Windows scheduler to launch the program about once per week.
Best Free Rootkit Detectors
Rootkits aren't always harmful, but some rootkits can contain viruses, so you need a rootkit detector that can figure out if a rootkit exists and if it is a problem.
Panda Anti-Rootkit
This is an excellent program for the average user. Everyone needs to download and run this during their weekly PC security scan.
Avira AntiVir
Avira AntiVir (a virus scanner) detects and deletes rootkits as well as viruses.
ThreatFire
ThreatFire contains a rootkit detector as well as a malware scanner.
Best Free Registry and File Cleaners
Eusing Free Registry Cleaner
Eusing Free Registry Cleaner only cleans the registry, but does a good job. Make sure you always backup your registry first.
Toni Arts Easy Cleaner
Toni Arts Easy Cleaner cleans your registry, shows you how you use your disk space, helps you remove stubborn programs, helps you remove unwanted startup programs, and gets rid of unnecessary files that clutter your computer and use up memory. Make sure you backup your registry first.
Stephen Gould CleanUp!
Stephen Gould CleanUp! cleans your registry, gets rid of unnecessary files, helps you uninstall stubborn programs, and helps you remove unwanted startup programs. Make sure you backup your registry first.
Best Free Backup Utilities
Microsoft SyncToy
I've been using this for a long time. If you frequently backup files to a network or to an external/removable drive, SyncToy is the way to go.
Mozy.com
If you want to backup your files to server far away from your home (so if your house burns down your files will still be safe and sound on the server), then Mozy is the way to go. It quietly encrypts and sends your files to the server while you work. The transfer rate is a little slow, but if you frequently leave your computer on overnight, large backups will be done before you know it.
Best File Shredder / Erasers
Even when you delete a file, it doesn't disappear. Experienced users can find the file and recover it. The problem is that some files contain sensitive personal information and need to be kept from dangerous hands by shredding them (the same way you would shred your bank statements in a paper shredder).
Eraser
Eraser is an excellent program for erasing files completely from your computer. I also use it for erasing hard drives when I donate old computers.
Best Free Internet Browsers
I used Internet Explorer (IE) for many years, and I know most of my site visitors do as well. But now I'm a Firefox fan, and I keep trying to convert everyone else, as well. It's safer, faster, has more features (including tons of useful extensions and add-ons you can easily download and install), and handles CSS files beautifully. Then the Google Toolbar came out and added tools for searching Google (such as just searching images, news, etc.), filling in forms, looking up maps of addresses with just one click, fill in forms with one click, send Gmail messages, translate text, automatically see page ranking, get page info., etc. I can't stand to use other browsers anymore. I'm spoiled.
Best Free Download Managers
Download Them All
This is my favorite download manager. I use it for all of my big download files or when I want to download many files from a website. It requires Mozilla Firefox.
Free Download Manager
Free Download Manager is a stand-alone program, so it does not require Firefox.
Best Free File Compression Packers / Extractors
7-Zip
7-Zip can pack files into several formats and can unpack many formats.
Best Free Instant Messengers (IM)
Pidgin
Pidgin (former Gaim) is an all-in-one instant messenger, so you don't need to have multiple messenger programs running to talk to all of your friends on various IMs. It works with AIM, GoogleTalk, Yahoo, MSN, ICQ, IRC, and a bunch of other chat and IM programs. It has lots of plug-ins / add-ons to enhance it's features. You can share files, scribble on a doodle pad, get email notifications, hold group chats, and enter popular chat rooms. There are other multi-service instant messengers, but Pidgin is the only one I've found that works with all major services and doesn't have lots of bugs.
Best Free Email Clients
Thunderbird
This program is definitely better than Microsoft Outlook Express but not as good as the full featured Microsoft Outlook. It's perfect for most home users.
Best Free Pop Email Tools
These programs take your email from your online email accounts and import them into your email client without having to pay premium fees for POP access.
YPOPS!
YPOPS! is strictly for Yahoo. It works very well. I was quite impressed.
FreePOPs
FreePOPs works with a variety of services, including Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL, Juno, Fastmail, etc.
POP Peeper
POP Peeper allows you to monitor your accounts then alerts you when new mail arrives.
Best Free Email Spam Filters / Blockers
MailWasher
This is an excellent Bayesian filter the average user. I highly recommend it.
K9
K9 is a Bayesian filter that also uses information from spam databases in addition to your definitions of spam, making it's spam catching abilities impressive. It alone doesn't support SSL, but you can install and configure a program called Stunnel to allow K9 to work with SSL. (See my Using K9 and Stunnel to Filter Spam from Gmail tutorial.)
Best Free Calendars and Schedules
Mozilla Lightning
This program is an extension for Mozilla Thunderbird. Like Thunderbird, it is better than Outlook Express but not as good as the full featured Microsoft Outlook.
Best Free Word Processors
Open Office Writer
Writer is not as pretty as MS Word, but it does its job well.
Best Free Spreadsheets
Open Office Calc
Like its Open Office counterparts, Calc isn't as pretty as Excel, but it does its job well.
Best Free FTP Clients
SmartFTP
This is one of the few stable free programs with lots of features you can normally get only from paid version.
Filezilla
There are certainly fancier ftp programs, but this one gets the job done with minimal bugginess.
FireFTP
This is a handy little extension for Mozilla FireFox. Like Filezilla, it's fast, stable, and and simple. It's perfect for quickly uploading or downloading just a few files.
Best Free HTML Editors
KompoZer
It's an updated version of Nvu. If you're just making a simple personal web page, then this is the program to get. It's also great for beginners who want to learn how to code.
Evrsoft 1st Page 2000
I was quite impressed with the features included in 1st Page. It's not a WYSIWYG editor, though, so be warned that you must be a code writer to use it.
Best Free PDF Tools
Adobe Reader
It's the original! And still my favorite because it's stable and fully featured.
Sumatra PDF
If Adobe's Reader is too bulky for your system or takes too much time to load, Sumatra may be your savior. Sumatra doesn't have all the features that Adobe Reader does, but it's light weight allows it to load very quickly.
Best Free Photo Viewers & Organizers
Google's Picasa
I was very impressed with the way Picasa presents and searches for photos. You can even search for photo by color.
Best Free Photo / Image Editors
GIMP
GIMP is one of the most impressive free photo editing programs I've seen. For anyone who doesn't want to pay for Adobe Photoshop, this is the way to go. It even creates .psd files.
Serif Photo Plus
Serif's Photo Plus comes in at #2 for me on the free photo editor list, but it's still a good product.
Best Free Vector Graphics Editors / Illustrators
Inkscape
If you're an artist or graphics designer on a budget, this is the program for you. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles that Adobe Illustrator has, but as far as free software goes, it's very impressive.
Best Free Media Players
Windows Media Player
If you have Windows, you probably have WMP. I end up using it to play most media files, rip and burn CDs, and manage my playlists for my MP3 players.
iTunes
iTunes is a great program. I especially love the podcast subscription features. Unfortunately, it tends to try to take over your system (much like QuickTime does) and run lots of stuff in the background, but if you use an iPod, you'll definitely want to check out iTunes.
WinAmp
WinAmp is a good alternative to iTunes for syncing your iPod.
Real Alternative
I remember back when Real Player was a good program. Now it's so filled with ads and such that I get upset whenever I have to use it. But, now you don't have to. Real Alternative with play Real Player files, and it doesn't have all the ads and such.
Eolsoft Flash Movie Player
I'm sure you've seen Flash movies on the Internet, but with this player, you can play those flicks without the Internet, and you can even extract Flash flicks from project files.
VLC Media Player
If you watch videos in a variety of formats, then you'll love this media player. They're constantly upgrading it to play all sorts of video formats in one nifty little player.
Best Free Money / Financial Software for Households
There is a growing number of online personal finance services (check out Time Saving Services for a few of my favorite), but if you don't feel comfortable putting your financial info on somebody else's computer, then try downloading one of these.
GnuCash
GnuCash is open source software. It doesn't have all the features that you'll find in Quicken or Microsoft Money, but it's a good basic program.
Best Free Money / Financial Software for Businesses
Microsoft Office Accounting Express
If you run a service business, this is an awesome program if you use Microsoft Office. It integrates into Outlook and Word, so you can send customized invoices to all of your clients (even via email). It doesn't do inventory, though, so if you have to keep track of your product stock, you'll need to upgrade.
Intuit QuickBooks Simple Start
This is an excellent program if you're already familiar with the QuickBooks or Quicken interface. Like Microsoft's free product, it doesn't do inventory, so you'll need to upgrade to keep track of your stock.
Best Free Map Software
Google Earth
Yes, Google Earth is a map program, but it also shows you satellite images, not just maps, so it can help you figure out if that scenic highway runs through the countryside or through a bunch of cities. Plus, you can download add-ins (called KMLs) that let you use the maps in completely new ways. For example, you can see how the earth might change due to population growth or global warming. You can see which parts of the world are using the most energy and oil. You can create maps of earthquake activities and go on a tour of all the great earthquake locations or look at routes for popular scenic road trips. You can track flight routes, cruise routes, the way the colors of the landscape change with the seasons, weather, and the spread of illnesses. You can even take a look at constellations in the night sky.
Celestia
Celestia is a map that goes beyond Earth. With Celestia, you can look at the solar system, galaxy, and even beyond the galaxy (at least as much as we know of it).
Stellarium
Stellarium is another start chart map, and it's great for astronomers because it shows you the stars above any given location. So enter in your home address, then look up at the sky (at night), and Stellarium will help you figure out what astronomical bodies you're looking at.
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