Free Software Picks

Thanks for the list(s) peeps.

I just recently started using IOBits Smart Defrag. It defrags and optimises including MFT and pagefile. Both my desktop and laptop now bootup in a fraction of the previous time. Highly recommended.

In my professional capacity (now retired), I relied on many of the Sys Internal utilities (PageDefrag, Autologon, Autorun, Process Explorer and MoveFile. Great tools!

For AV, I used AVG free for years until they screwed it up. The final straw was the upgrade to ver 8 which was incompatible with my laptops BIOS version. Too late once installed and it meant a rebuild. I switched to Avast but on the very next update, it started screwing with my internet access not allowing Firefox to load properly. So I went to Avira and except for it's annoying processor hogging during update, it works good for me. The workaround for this is to manually kick off the update when it's convenient. For some reason, this method doesn't result in the processor hogging???

I can personally recommend TextMaker Viewer as an alternative to MS Word viewer (quicker and less invasive and it handles docx without having to install additional support) Media Player Classic and WinHTTrack Website Copier for saving those webpages that you don't want disappearing into oblivion.

There's plenty more good stuff out there but I'll just mention musikCube as it's free and quite useful although it doesn't quite have a finished feel to it. It also has the tendency to crash if you press the wrong button while playing a tune but perhaps only on my computers.

Originally posted by Dark Ghost
The following is a list of my Free Software picks. This list is intended for users of Windows, although some applications offer versions for alternative Operating Systems. While it is debatable whether each product on this list is the best in its field, there is no doubt that each ranks highly when it comes to quality and value. At the bottom of the page you will find helpful websites for finding the best free software.

Please be aware that using any of the following software is done at your own risk and neither I nor ATS can be held responsible for any system problems you might encounter if you decide to do so.

My Software Picks:

Anti-malware:
* avast! Free Antivirus

Are you kidding? Avast is so damn chatty I can never use the lower right corner of my screen for anything. Panda Cloud AV FTW! Unobtrusive AND effective!

Compression Utility:
* 7Zip
Agree, for free ones. If you know how to get WinRAR free, I like it a wee bit better.

CD/DVD Software:
* CDBurnerXP

PowerISO is da bomb... if u know how to get it free LOL

Defragmentation Software:
* UltraDefrag

Since Win7, fragmentation just isn't that much of a problem...

Email Program:
* Mozilla Thunderbird

I like BarcaPro. free download on cnet. GREAT integrated PIM, with contact management. You can schedule follow-up contacts. very useful for business people, esp. sales.

File Transfer:
* FileZilla

Werd!

Image Software:
* Paint.NET

Never tried it, but how does it measure up to GIMP?

Internet Browser:
* Mozilla Firefox

I'm slowly moving off FF to Chrome, now that mouse gestures, ABP, and other key plugins have been ported. Chrome just lacks proper display of nested menus in wordpress

Messenger (Chat):
* Trillian

I don't chat anymore, but when I did, trillian was the best.

Messenger (Video):
* Skype

Werd.

Office Software:
* OpenOffice

and for 'just writing', AbiWord is da bomb. Fast loading, uncluttered, and compatible with Word 97-2003. In the docs it shows how to set default save type to *.doc

PDF Creator:
* doPDF

I've never used that one... but another alternative (for GPL lovers) is GhostScript and GSView.

PDF Reader:
* Foxit Reader

Better than Adobe Reader? I'll give it a shot.

System Cleaning:
* CCleaner

Werd.

System Information:
* Speccy

I find Win7 sysinfo to be all i need.

Torrents:
* uTorrent

oh WERD. And qbittorrent for Linux! (copies the utorrent interface pretty well!)

Video Converter:
* Xmedia Recode

The gem of this bunch... I've been looking for an easy way to convert my Video_TS folders to .avis!

Thanks a bunch dude!

Originally posted by MoosKept240
reply to post by Klassified

 

Really about AVG? I have used AVG Free for years now, and I have never had an issue. I have not had a virus on any of my machines in almost 4 years since my dell laptop.

Really my only issue with AVG is it slows up my pc pretty bad when it does its scan.

Like now it just finished a scan and shows no problems, but earlier when norton tried to run, it was trying to tell me I had many errors or viruses.

Is there a different free version? That causes problems?

You can see how much of a hog AVG is on an older machine. I removed AVG from a 2002 Sony Vaio laptop (1GHz Centrino and 512MB RAM) and installed Panda Cloud AV in its place: instant 30% speed increase doing ANYTHING. If you have money to spend, Bitdefender is great. But for free, Panda Cloud FTW.

Originally posted by Klassified
reply to post by Dark Ghost

 

Someone mentioned AVG. You couldn't pay me to have that program on my PC. I have repaired a lot of machines because of that program. It's as bad as Norton and Mcafee are.

Amen. I do IT for living and feel the same way about AVG. It used to be good (maybe 5 years ago) but bloatware and bad code has taken it down. I haven't used it in awhile though perhaps it has changed (doubt it, like Norton and McAfee-----they keep getting worse).

I should add that I haven't used any antivirus on my own personal computers for years, but I do slap it on friends and family. Lately I have used two freebies: Panda Cloud Antivirus (free version) or MS Security Essentials. (At work we use the client/server version of Trend Micro).

reply to post by DissentFromDayOne


Trend Micro is a good program for the office. I have found, as I'm sure you have, the simpler the anti-virus, the better it is for the average joe. Too complicated and they won't use it. Thats where Security Essentials shines. Can't get much simpler than that.

I should add that I haven't used any antivirus on my own personal computers for years

I keep Avast on mine because I'm always scanning someones hard drive with it. But yeah, people are amazed when I tell them I seldom if ever get a virus. I'm sure you get the same response.

Panda.

reply to post by ANNED

PageDefrag is for XP, no further development, does not work with Win 7.

Usenet's Alt.Comp.Freeware

Originally posted by nolabel
Softpedia is one of my favourite sites for software.

It has sections for Linux, Windows & Mac as well as some other useful stuff.

Thanks, I found THIS, a graphic editor plugin called RIOT for programs such as The GIMP, IrfanView, XnView and others.

some cool features for analyzing images...