Best Freeware

Hi all!

I just thought it would be good to share some of the best freeware programs we all may have found. What good freeware programs would you recommend? Here are some of my favorites (I am using XP, but most of these programs will work with any Windows version):

Avant Browser This is my favorite browser. It has multiple page tabbed browsing, built-in popup suppression, built-in Google search engine, integrated cleaner, and safe recovery (if the browser is shut down improperly, it will remember and display the last pages viewed upon next browser startup). It is based on the IE6 engine, but is faster than IE6. It is basically the IE6 upgrade that Microsoft ought to be offering. http://www.avantbrowser.com/

Belarc Advisor This program displays all the information you might want - and then some - about the software and hardware installed in your pc. I like it because it displays all the information on one page in your web browser (Internet Explorer). http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

ieSpell A great spell checker plug-in for IE (but works with Avant in the right-click menu as well). It enables one to check spelling in forums such as this one or when filling out forms online. http://www.iespell.com/

Leechget This is my favorite download manager. It works flawlessly with both IE6 and Avant (but I think special plug-ins are needed for use with other browsers, such as Netscape or Opera). It offers everything you could want in a download manager. http://www.leechget.de/

Password Corral This is a very handy little program that securely stores all passwords (and other kinds of information). http://www.cygnusproductions.com/freeware/pc.asp

RegCleaner What I like about this program is its ease of use, and the fact that it has never caused any problems with my registry. It lists all the programs that are or have been installed on your pc. If you see a program listed that you know you have un-installed, all you have to do is check it and tell RegCleaner to clean. It will clean your registry of any invalid or unnecessary entries that program has left behind. http://www.vtoy.fi/jv16/shtml/regcleaner.shtml

Starter This is the startup manager program I use. It is easier to use than the msconfig utility in windows. http://www.simtel.net/pub/pd/57830.shtml

Trillian This chat program serves as a hub for your other chat programs, such as ICQ, AIM, Windows/MSN Messenger, or Yahoo Messenger, so that you can connect to them all with this one program. http://www.ceruleanstudios.com/trillian/index.html

Here are some good freeware programs for combating spyware/adware:

Ad-Aware 6 http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/

Spybot: Search and Destroy http://spybot.safer-networking.de/

SpywareBlaster http://www.wilderssecurity.net/spywareblaster.html

SpywareGuard http://www.wilderssecurity.net/spywareguard.html

Note: I have found that running SpywareBlaster and SpywareGuard together virtually eliminates the need for either Spybot or Ad-Aware. To see what I mean, try running Spybot and/or ad-Aware after a few days of surfing, then try the same thing after installing and running SpywareBlaster and SpywareGuard for a few days of surfing. You will see just how effective these two little programs really are!

Hope you find some of these helpful and hope to hear about some of your favorites!

Pastork

[ March 29, 2003, 07:29 PM: Message edited by: Pastork ]

 

RodH,

Thanks for the suggestion. I have downloaded and installed Irfanview and it really looks like a great program. I hope more people will interact in this thread with their own suggestions!

Pastork

 

Frankly, I prefer to view most pdf documents through the free Adobe eBook Reader ( http://www.adobe.com/products/ebookreader/main.html ). I find it easier to use. Of course, it will not read anything via your browser. It requires that you download the pdf file and add it to the eBook reader library, but most of them download quickly anyway.

Pastork

 

Glad you liked the Avant Browser, TD. That is one reason I started this thread.

Have any of you ever tried any of Karen's Power Tools ? She offers them all for download free of charge. You can check them out at http://www.karenware.com/powertools/powertools.asp . I would be interested in knowing what you think.

Pastork

 

PopupPopper This is my favorite popup blocker for Internet Explorer. I think it is better than 'Popup Stopper.' I like the way it works with a button on the browser (nothing running in the system tray and no desktop icons) so that you can access the PopupPopper Control Panel and easily manage the sites for which you wish to allow or block all popups. I also like that it gives you the option to selectively allow or block popups as they come up. This is especially good for use with sites where you may want to access a popup occasionally. Whenever you access a site that has popups, the PopupPopper box appears and allows you to chose to 'Allow this popup,' 'Allow ALL from site,' 'Block this popup,' or 'Block ALL from site.' If you don't mind this occasional extra step (which takes all of two seconds), it is well worth having the program to be able to selectively control in a very easy way the popups do or don't wish to allow! And , if you are like me, you tend to visit the same sites most of the time anyway, so once you have set the control you can just forget about it. http://www.bayden.com/

Pastork

[ March 23, 2003, 12:07 AM: Message edited by: Pastork ]

 

Ventin,

Thanks for the suggestion of mailwasher. I gave it a try and it does exactly what it is supposed to do. I especially liked the very simple 'import' function that made setup for my Outlook Express a breeze. It had good tutorial helps on the website for easy download, installation, and setup instructions, so that even a novice can run the program with no problems.

ColaradoFB,

I downloaded the CookieWall and Maxmem programs from AnalogX. They are two excellent programs! Although I didn't try any of the others, I would imagine they are as high quality as these two. Thanks for the heads up!


Fast Defrag 2.0 I have used this fast and efficient little defragmenting and memory management tool for a while (another of my favorite freeware programs - available at http://www.ams.as.ro/ ). It is an excellent program, but for memory management, I think the Maxmem program from AnalogX may have edged it out.

Pastork

[ March 29, 2003, 07:21 PM: Message edited by: Pastork ]

 

I have used Fast Defrag with XP without any problems at all. However, I have not tried to do a System Restore of XP since using the program. I don't know if it would effect this or not, although some defragmenting programs can (such as Norton's Speed Disk, even though it is supposed to be XP compatible).