I posted about Add-ons and Plugins (FF and WP), but how about some great free programs? Many of these are well known and commonly recommended, but maybe this list will help somebody.

• Avast! Antivirus: Free for home use. There are other free antiviruses out there, and I’ve tried them but Avast has been the best for me. The free version includes their on-access scanner to catch viruses as you surf or download, while other antivirus programs only offer this in the paid version(s).
• CCleaner: Great for cleaning up your computer! Get rid of old temporary files, clear your cookies, clean up your registry, and more! The same company also puts out a few other useful programs.
• Pidgin: Do you get tired of having multiple messengers? I did. I tried trillian and meebo, and didn’t like either one. I found Pidgin back before it had the current name and I’ve kept it ever since. Tabbed messaging is very nifty.
• FireFox: Most people know about this one already but I had to include it in the list. This is the best browser on the internet. Period.
• Twhirl: If you use Twitter, this is a great way to keep up! I’ve tried several different programs for Twitter, including a few FireFox Add-ons and this has been my favorite.
• File-Zilla: A wonderful and free FTP client.
• foobar2000: There are a lot of music players out there, but this one doesn’t use many system resources. Very customizable, and even gives you tabbed playlists. Very nice.
• GIMP: Free graphics program. I prefer GIMP over any of the paid programs I’ve tried.
• OpenOffice: Free program compatible with Microsoft Office.
• Spybot Search & Destroy: Anti Spyware program.

These are just a few programs, so watch for more posts like this in the future!

Related posts:

1. Favorite Firefox Add-ons I’ve been asked multiple times what my favorite add-ons are...
2. Plugins and Add-ons I was playing with some new add-ons I downloaded for...

Filed under: Downloads
by N.G. Woosh