Best of breed software
Who said the best things in life come for free? They do, check out my favourite FREEWARE list below. The list is built of applications and tools that I am using or I have deployed. While many alternatives may exist, these are the ones that do the job for me. There is no such thing as a free lunch, so you will need to tolerate some advertising or constraints in functionality. If you are willing to ‘pay that price’, you have a good deal. Enjoy the free ride!
the freeware open-source alternative office productivity software suite
LibreOffice for Windows works well with Windows 10 and beyond
Virus and Spam Protection
- Microsoft Security Essentials is a FREE virus scanner that works well for Windows Vista and 7.
- AVG Anti-Virus is a FREE virus scanner that works well for Windows XP, Vista and 7 to 10.
- Spybot Search & Destroy is a FREE spam scanner that works well for Windows XP, Vista and 7.
- Internet Eraser is a FREE history eraser.
Backup Tools
- SyncBack is a FREE backup and file synchronisation tool that works well for Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 to 10.
- KeePass is a FREE password manager that works well for Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 to 10.
System Cleaning Tools
- CCleaner is a FREE system optimization tool that works well for Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 to 10.
- MyDefrag is a FREE system disk defragmenter and optimizer that works well for Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 to 10.
- EASEUS Partition Master is a FREE hard disk partition tool that works well for Windows XP.
File and Print
- FileZilla is a FREE file transfer client and server that works well for MacOS, Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 to 10.
- Cute PDF is a FREE PDF creator that works well for Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 to 10.
- ZipGenius is a FREE file compression tool.
Media Players
- VLC is a FREE mediaplayer with great video codec support that works well for MacOS, Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 to 10.
- iTunes is a FREE mediaplayer and library tool that works well for MacOS, Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 to 10.
Note: check out my posts on iTunes support
- IrfanView is a FREE image viewer that works well for Windows XP, Vista and 7.
- Foxit Reader is a FREE PDF reader that works well for Windows XP, Vista and 7.
Browsers
- Google Chrome is a FREE web browser that works well for Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 to 10 as well as for MacOS.
- Safari is a FREE web browser that works well for MacOS, Windows XP, Vista 7 & Windows 10.
- Mozilla Firefox is a FREE web browser that works well for MacOS, Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 to 10.
Note 1: Internet Explorer and Firefox have different implementation of ‘standards’ which causes unsimilar display results when you design web pages – (check out my posts on Mozilla Firefox).
Note 2: Mozilla performs better than Safari when it comes to file downloads and display of some web pages at particular websites.
Mail and Internet Phone
- Windows Live Mail is a FREE mail client that works well for Windows XP, Vista and 7.
Note: Outlook Express is end-of-life and was my initial prefered mail client – (check out my posts on Outlook Express).
- Skype is a FREE Internet Phone client and service that works well for MacOS, Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 to 10.
Media Library and Conversion Tools
- Videora iPod Converter is a FREE video converter for iPod.
Note: check out my posts on Videora support
- DVDVideoSoft.com offers a FREE collection of tools to work with DVD, video and audio files.
- DVD Profiler is a DVD Collection Database Manager that works well for Windows XP, Vista and 7.
- calibre is an ebook management tool that works well for MacOS, Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 to 10.
- Mixxx is free, open source DJ software that works well for MacOS, Windows XP, Vista and 7.
- Audacity is a FREE audio recorder and editor that works well for Windows and MacOS.
Note: check out my post on recording with Audacity
- iTunes Sync is a FREE iTunes MP3 Player Integration tool that works well for Windows XP, Vista and 7.
Note: check out my posts on iTunes Sync support
Remote Assistance Tools
- TeamViewer is a FREE Remote Assistance Client that works well for Windows XP, Vista and 7 to 10.
- TightVNC and UltraVNC are FREE Remote Assistance Clients.
