Free and legal programs for safety, security, and fun
Adobe Photoshop CS4 is a great program. Unfortunately, it is also expensive. Even anti-spyware programs or FTP programs often cost $30-$50 and, sadly, there are reports of spyware being included in anti-spyware programs. A few of the programs listed below (Firefox, Open Office, and Filezilla in particular) are comparable or better then the commercial versions. Other programs are not quite as good as the commercial programs, but are good enough for most users.
Please note: Some links will take you to the United States or English main page. There should be buttons to switch to the site for your country or language.
Most Recommended Program
- Firefox I highly recommend this increasingly popular browser. It is more secure then IE, has tabbed browsing, and a large number of plug-ins for additional costumization and security. Adblock and Flashblock are particularly useful. Please note: You can only download Windows updates by using Internet Explorer. There are also a very few websites that require Internet Explorer. Open Source
Anti-spyware
- Ad-aware While no anti-spyware program is perfect Ad-aware catches a substantial number of spyware programs. The interface is easy to use and provides options including how to deal with any spyware found during a span. Options include basic, extensive, and custom scans. Please note: Besides the free personal version there are also paid Plus and Pro versions. Make sure you frequently (at least once a week) download the available updates.
- Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware The quick scan takes only a few minutes.
- Spybot Search & Destroy This popular anti-spyware program is recommended by PC Word among other publications. It lacks some of the customization of Ad-aware, but it does a good job catching spyware. Neither Ad-aware nor Spybot Search & Destroy catch all spy-ware so it is a good idea to install both. Please note: It is important to check for updates at least once a week.
Cleaning and Maintance
- CCleaner CClearner has an easy to understand interface and allows you to choose which files you want to clean.
Web Design
Learning web design is preferable to relying on a program. It gives you the most freedom and bypasses the issue of bugs. However, learning web design takes time and sometimes you need to create a website or HTML document before you have time to learn it. Programs are also helpful when you have a large number of files you want to quickly convert to HTML.
- Amaya Amaya is a web editor that has options for both WYSIWTG (What you see is what you get) and straight coding. It has the advantage of allowing for both HTML and XHTML coding. The main disadvantage is that if you start out in the WYSIWTG mode and then switch to straight coding it can be difficult to read the code. Open Source
- Notepad++ Notepad is a free source editor that has a number of plug-ins that make it excellent for web design. Open Source
For the Office and School
- Open Office Suite Open Office Suite is a collection of office related programs similiar to Microsoft Office. I have been using it since 2004 have been able to send and receive files to people using both Microsoft Office and Word Perfect. Open Source
- Inkscape A good program for creating Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) Open Source
Additional Open Source Programs
- VCL Media Player This cross-platform media player and streaming server is a nice alternate to many commercial programs. Using VCL often allows you to bypass additional codec downloads. It also works for viewing DVDs. Please note: Users running Windows ME or earlier may need to download an additional file. Open Source
- Filezilla Filezilla excellent fast and reliable FTP program with good security features. Open Source
- 7-Zip An excellent zipping and unzipping ultility Open Source
- GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program GIMP is an image manipulation program that performs many of the same functions as Photoshop 7. It has the necessary tools for casual or intermediate graphic design. Open Source
- Irfanview This basic graphics program is useful when you want to make basic adjustments to an image (crop, etc) or want to convert between formats.
- Livebrush This new drawing application has some nice effects and has a lot of potential. There is both a free version and a paid version.
- Apophysis A fractal program. Open Source
- Fractal Explorer Another fractal program
Where to search for Open Source programs and information
- Sourceforge Sourceforge is the largest open source software development website. As the software is created by thousands of programmers the quality and usefulness varies.
- The Open Source Initiative
