Free Programs You Need
April 7, 2009 by Robert Owen
Filed under Software, Support
Free is good!
And in this case Free is GREAT.
Here are some of my favorite FREE programs that I use on a regular basis. Techie or not these programs will make a good addition to your arsenal.
If you have a favorite useful program that is not listed please post it in the comments… (make sure it’s FREE 
)
Top Free Programs you NEED!
- Acrobat Reader : come on, you need to be able to open all those PDF’s.
- Mozilla FireFox : Yes, get this browser! It’s safe, fast, free and fancy… well maybe not fancy but, it’s free!
- Internet Explorer 8 : OK, I know I just said get FireFox but sometimes you NEED IE to access some sites. IE 8 is Microsofts newest release and appears to be better than previous versions.
- Zune Software : Ok, Ok.. Don’t get a Zune, I don’t care but, do use the software, it’s really great for managing your mp3s, videos, podcasts, etc… Give it a try. It is a little big 100 meg(ish) download but, worth it!
- Audacity : Everbody needs to record some audio. Audacity is great!! I used it to create some funny Station IDs for brink.fm
- Open Office : Open Office is a perfect, Free solution to shelling out 100’s on MS Office.
- Foxmarks/Xmarks : Ok, now that I’ve got you using FireFox AND IE 8, you’ll want to synch your Favorites.. Foxmarks is the perfect solution.
- Tweetdeck : For the twitter obsessed… this is a must!
- AVG Free : AVG is a good, free, light on memory Antivirus. Unlike McAfee and Norton this AV wont bring your computer to a crawl.
- Tools: These I will combine into one: Adaware, Malware Bytes, Spybot, HiJack This, and Combo Fix
*Update:
I’ve forgotten a few and had been adding them as comments… I’m going to add those to this post in a new list:
- Windows Live Essentials : Windows Live Essentials gives you instant messaging, e-mail, blogging, photos, and more.
- Jing : Jing is a GREAT and Free program that you can use for screen captures and Screen Casting.
- 7zip : 7zip is a utility to compress and decompress zip archives.
- Mozy: Can’t believe I forgot this one… Mozy is online backup. They have a free (for home use) account for up to 2gig of backup. or for $5 a month you can get unlimited backup.
- Live Mesh : Synchronizing life. Sync, share, and access the information you care about—wherever you happen to be.
- …. check back for more
© 2009, Robert Owen. All rights reserved.
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I haven’t tried Audacity or Foxmarks, thanks for those links.
Also,
I forgot about the Windows Live Essentials…Windows Live Essentials gives you instant messaging, e-mail, blogging, photos, and more.
http://download.live.com/
Found another Gem on my PC today that I had not included in the list above, that was Jing! Jing is a GREAT and Free program that you can use for screen captures and Screen Casting. To Give it a Try goto: http://jingproject.com/
It seems I will have to re-do this list as I keep finding programs that should have been included.
For Windows Vista Users this next program is a must.
7zip :
7zip is a utility to compress and decompress zip archives.
You can download it here: http://7-zip.org/