Best of: Free Software
March 3rd, 2007
[Last Updated: June 2, 2008]
If you’re like me, you are probably a big fan of things that are free. Unfortunately many people don’t realize that the internet houses all sorts of free software, including software that is comparable or in some cases actually better than their paid counterparts.
As a result, I decided to create a post that collects the top 2 or 3 free software alternatives from around the internet and keep them all in one place. As new free software is created or improved, this list will continue to be updated in the hopes that it will remain a valid resource over time.
Note: This list is intended to be a collection of free software. If you are interested in a list of the applications that are web-based, I recommend you check out my post Best of: Web-based Applications.
Here is my compilation of free software, broken down into categories, and includes a brief description of each:
- Anti-Virus -
- Avast – Free anti-virus software for non-commercial use. Does require regular re-registration.
- AVG – Free and lightweight anti-virus software that works for Windows Vista and Linux.
- ClamWin – Popular alternative anti-virus software.
- Adware/Spyware Removal -
- Spyware Terminator – Currently the best free adware/spyware removal tool.
- Spybot – Has trouble keeping up with current adware/spyware, but makes for a good secondary scanner.
- Windows Defender – Microsoft’s product offers a quick and effecient way to rid yourself of annoying adware/spyware.
- BitTorrent -
- Azureus – Open source java-based BitTorrant client with plugins available.
- uTorrent – Smaller and quicker BitTorrant client.
- Blogging Software -
- Windows Live Writer – Allows you to blog from your desktop.
- Calendar -
- Sunbird – Mozilla’s calendar and organizer service.
- EssentialPM – Another free calendar and organizer service.
- Computer Cleaner -
- CCleaner – System optimization and privacy tool that allows Windows to run faster by freeing up disk space.
- Desktop Search -
- X1 Enterprise – Indexes 370 different file types.
- Google Desktop – Google is usually tops when it comes to search, but this is known to slow down your computer when installed. Includes Outlook toolbar and GMail search.
- Yahoo Desktop – Yahoo’s version of desktop search, for people that prefer Yahoo products.
- Digital Image Editor -
- The GIMP – Open Source image editor for people that went something similar to Adobe Photoshop.
- Paint.net – Another alternative to Photoshop from students at Washington State University.
- Download Manager -
- Download Manager – Fast and efficient download manager that integrates well with the major browsers. Also works great with FlastGot extension for Firefox users.
- FlashGet – Complex download manager for advanced users.
- E-Mail Client -
- Thunderbird – Free desktop E-mail client. Supports POP3 and IMAP. Can be improved via Thunderbird extensions.
- Foxmail – Free desktop E-mail client that based out of China.
- Feed Reader (Desktop) -
- GreatNews – Most popular desktop feed reader.
- Snarfer – Another great feed reader rapidly rising in popularity.
- FTP Client -
- Firezilla – Fast, reliable, and secure FTP client.
- SmartFTP – Good alternative FTP client for non-commercial use.
- HTML Editor -
- Nvu – Popular open source HTML editor.
- Instant Messenger w/Voice -
- Google Talk – Google’s instant messenger.
- Microsoft Live Messenger -Microsoft’s instant messenger. Also known as MSN Messenger.
- Yahoo IM – Yahoo’s instant messenger.
- Office Products -
- OpenOffice – Popular open source Office suite.
- AbiWord – Lightweight alternative to Microsoft Word.
- Password Manager -
- Keepass – Popular password manager.
- PDF Creator -
- Microsoft Office 2007 Add-in: Save as PDF/XPS – Exports documents to PDF/XPS.
- PDFCreator – Creates PDF’s from any Window’s programs.
- PrimoPDF – Converts documents to the PDF format by”printing” to the PDF printer.
- PDF Viewer -
- Foxit Reader – Popular PDF reader for Windows users.
- Phone -
- Skype – Internet phone service. **Charges associated with service, but the software is free**
- Screen Capture -
- FastStone – Feature filled screen capture service that doesn’t even require installation.
- PrintScreen – Basic screen capture service.
- WinSnap – Fairly professional screen capture service that will be able to do most of the stuff you want it to.
- Text Editor -
- Edit Pad Lite – Text editor similar to Notepad, but with tabbed windows and more!
- Notepad 2 – Designed to be an improvement over Notepad.
- NoteTab Lite – Text editor with built in libraries.
- Video/Audio Player -
- Windows Media Player – Microsoft’s audio and video player.
- SongbirdNest – Open Source player from Mozilla.
- VLC Media Player – Cross-platform media player and streaming server.
- Web Browser -
- Firefox – Most popular alternative to Internet Explorer. Features versatility with extensions and themes. See my Users Guide to Firefox 2.0 for a full review.
- Flock – Based on Firefox web browser, but includes several built-in social features. See my Users Guide to Flock for a full review.
- Opera – Popular alternative browser known for its speed and security. See my Users Guide to Opera for a full review.
- Windows Explorer -
- Xplorer2 – Replaces Windows File Explorer with some advanced options.
- ExplorerXP – Replaces Windows Explorer for Windows 2000 and XP.
- QTTabbar – Allows you to operate files and folders like tab browser folder grouping, histories, etc.
- Zip Utility -
- 7 Zip – Open Source zip utility
- IZArc – Zip utility that supports over 50 archive types.
- TugZip – Free archiving utility for Windows that provides support for compressed, encoded, and disc-imaged files.
In reviewing the above list, the one thing that jumps out at me is that a lot of this software is open source. I think this helps demonstrate the power of open source software both as a way to drive down prices, as well as providing an overall better product in many cases, due to the unlimited resources available.
If you know of a qualifying product that you think should be included in this list, please let me know in the comments below!
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Great work man! I only use SEO for firefox and SeoQuake 
No, Gravatar does not have an affiliate program. 
Does Gravator have an affilitate program? 
Great list. All the important ones covered. I've made my own Top 10 list at the following;
http://thatimportantblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/10-best-greasemonkey-userscripts-2009.html
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Wow, I think you covered everything in that one… nice article and I see the digg button. I hope people will digg it, because its a good one.
Favourite text editor – NoteTab Lite http://notetab.com/ which edits HTML etc as well. Lots of “libraries” built-in, plus you can write your own if you have the patience to learn.
Favourite for notes, to-do, and so on is EverNote http://www.evernote.com/en/ – it saves text, pictures, notes, which you can categorise and search for easily. You can add “clippers” to IE, Outlook, Firefox and Thunderbird which will add the highlighted text, picture etc and the URL (which is what I always used to forget when I took notes!)
Music, video – I’ve tried Songbird http://www.songbirdnest.com/ from Mozilla, but I don’t play music much.
Hey guys,
Since we are talking a little bit about text editors… what is the main difference between the classic Window’s NOTEPAD.exe compared to the three mentioned in the post and the NoteTab Lite as mentioned in the comments?
NOTEPAD.exe is coming up on being twenty years old soon and I use it on a regular basis for writing html, php, and other various code.
Garry,
These are all free so I would download one and give it a shot. They are mainly updated to be more current. Some use tabs (like Firefox and Internet Explorer) or have improvements on other Notepad functions. Many are open source and constantly improved, making them more reflective of today’s technology (vs. Notepad being 20 years old).
If you decide to try them out, please share your thoughts below.
NoteTab:
Tabbed, so can have several docs open at once
Acts as a pasteboard, so you can save several clips automatically
Built-in libraries for HTML, CSS, etc, so you can click a tag to enter it
Support for non-latin fonts (Chinese, Hebrew, etc)
Search and replace
Variable-width fonts
Supports Perl, Gawk, EBCDIC
Strip tags
Add-ins for all sorts of applications – programming, maths, LaTex, loads of stuff.
Access folders/files from a sidebar
Very helpful mailing lists
Can you tell I’m a fan?
Kyle, one of those programs on the list I just downloaded the other day. When I got my new laptop it didn’t come with FrontPage so I had to find a replacement and I found Nvu. Now, I haven’t used it long, but so far it does what I have needed it to.
it is a very good list! nice to see a list of good freebies (w/o the obvious one):)
Wow,
Notepad2 is pretty cool! I like it… might replace my trusty old notepad.exe
We’ll see though
Under video and audio you should VLC player
is free is good and it can play pretty much anything
xpt .rm’s RealMedia Format, but other than that it pretty much has everything covered. Even DVD and VCDs and it can add subtitle files and so much more…
so ya, just 2 mention it
tugzip is one alternative for zipping solutions.
Freesitebuilder – I have added NoteTab Lite to the list. Your enthusiasm has me excited!
Garry – Glad to see you liked Notepad2
MosterMan – Thank for the recommendation. It looks like a good video/audio player, so I have added it to my list!
Naren – Another great suggestion! I have included it in the Zip section.
I second the notetab recommendation, even the free lite version is amazing.
For those who are not comfortable with dhtml menus etc, they can also use coffeecup. They also have a free version available with limited features, but for someone who is not able to do the html coding,it is godsend.
I’m surprised that Skype isn’t on there, it’s a very good voice instant messenger.
Silvan,
Thanks for the Skype reminder. I don’t really think of it as software, but it is, so it should be added. I will be doing this shortly!
I just found out that version 2.0 of WinSnap is not free. Bummer, too – because FastStone is superior. WinSnap was pretty good, but now it is not worth the cost if you can still use FastStone for free (for non-commercial use)…
I also have a lot of different freeware recommendations on my site: http://maximillianx.blogspot.com
This is excellent resource on all the free tools out there. I love Nvu and Openoffice. Thank you.
cool resources, i dugg it, its interesting.
the #1 for me is utorrent, i dont know what i would do without torrents.
I’m sorry to ask here, but here goes.
I’m really not a code guy and simply am trying to figure out how to keep my computer running smoothly and still use some of the cool open source programs that are out there. Please forgive my ignorance.
I’ve heard of Open Office and understand the benefits of the open code idea (I think). Aren’t the benefits what makes open code vulnerable? (I sure hope I am asking this correctly.) I mean, if anyone can update the code, then can’t “anyone” put in some bad code and cause problems? This shows how little I really do know about it. I have spent some time looking through reviews and trying to figure out more about how open code works. Is there a good resource for people who have questions about using open code software and the benefits and possible pitfalls or vulnerabilities? I don’t like being at the mercy of a near monopoly (I don’t hate Bill or anything, just think there should be good alternatives).
Thank you for any help you will give.
Have a GREAT day!
Hi Dan!
Thanks for the comment. I’ll take a stab at explaining it.
Take a non open sourced software like Facebook for example. There was a big ruckus recently when a small portion of their source code was made viewable by the public. The ruckus was because that was private (closed source) code. Companies like Firefox and Open Office are open source, meaning anyone can view their code. It does not mean, however, that anyone can alter the code. It is only viewable. The benefit of having your code viewable depends on the software. Anyone can make a Firefox extension for Firefox because they can view the code, make a plugin for WordPress, or help improve products by suggesting improvements through viewing the code (such as improving an open source anti-virus to be more effective).
Does that make more sense?
Audio:
VUPlayer http://www.vuplayer.com
lightweight (3M in lieu of 10M for wmp) with heavyweight performance; system-tray; system-wide hotkeys including doubleclick without popup; filetypes all, including MOD/MTM/S3M/XM/IT/Mo3; file association; playlists all; Audioscrobber; Extract with freedb saved to ini file; Convert flac/mp3/monkey/ogg/wma/wavpack; tabbed; and more.
no ads, donation, ease of operation
since I’ve discovered it a year ago, have not had any need for other players. For me it has ALL the necessities and then some, and NONE of the claptrap. Rating full marks.
Here’s a more accurate definition of open source: http://www.opensource.org/docs/osd
As for a text editor, I recommend Notepad++.