ceramic'cow
03-25-2008, 12:50 PM
Right - We had one of these before, but it appears to have got lost in the reshuffle. I know that I for one found it pretty handy, so let's have your suggestions for useful programs that you can get for free, and I'll try and keep this first post updated.
______________________________________
Security
AdAware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad_aware_free.php)and Spybot S&D (http://www.safer-networking.org/) - both do spyware detection.]
AVG Free Edition (http://free.grisoft.com/) - regularly-updated virus scanner.
Avira AntiVir Personal (http://www.free-av.de/en/download/1/avira_antivir_personal__free_antivirus.html)- Virus protection, including guard; free for personal use.
Comodo Firewall Pro (http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/download_firewall.html) - Firewall including malware defense, detailed adjustments (if wanted).
Zone Alarm (http://www.zonealarm.com/) - Firewall
Sophos Anti-Rootkit (http://www.sophos.com/products/free-tools/sophos-anti-rootkit.html) - Anti-Rootkit application.
______________________________________
Internet
Mozilla Firefox (http://http//www.mozilla-europe.org/en/products/firefox/) - Fantastic free web browser that makes Internet Explorer look and feel positively archaic. 'Nuff said.
Mozilla Thunderbird (http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/products/thunderbird/) - The e-mail client equivalent of Firefox. Not quite so revolutionary as Firefox, but does the job exactly as it's meant to.
Mozilla Sunbird (http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/sunbird/) - for those that want Outlook Calendar features but don't want outlook.
Pidgin (http://www.pidgin.im/) - instant messenger that works across many different providers, ie. aol, MSN, yahoo.
Trillian (http://www.ceruleanstudios.com/) - same as above.
Miranda IM (http://www.miranda-im.org/) - Basic, low-resource, fully customisable instant messaging client; protocols (ICQ, AIM, Jabber, MSN etc.) are added via plugins (http://addons.miranda-im.org/).
mIRC (http://www.mirc.com/) - Internet Relay Chat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_relay_chat) client.
SmartFTP (http://www.smartftp.com/) - Clearly arranged FTP client that supports SFTP over SSH; compatible with RTSR FTP server ;); free for non-commercial use.
SyncBack Freeware (http://www.2brightsparks.com/downloads.html#freeware) - Backup and synchronisation tool, highly customisable via GUI (include/exclude by file format/folder/date etc., exclude specific files etc.).
A Bit Torrent client that for some reason I can't manage a to post a link to. But I guess you could always Google It. (http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=utorrent&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a)
______________________________________
Media (General)
ImgBurn (http://www.imgburn.com/) - lightweight CD / DVD / HD DVD / Blu-ray burning application.
DAEMON Tools Lite (http://www.daemon-tools.cc/dtcc/download.php?mode=ViewCategory&catid=5)- Emulates optical devices so as to mount images (.iso, .nrg (Nero), .cue sheets etc.) you made of CDs, DVDs etc.
DVD Decrypter (http://www.dvddecrypter.org.uk/) - Burns DVD images (.iso, .bin, .nrg etc.) or copies of audio and video files from DVD to DVD-R/RW; development discontinued (http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/DVD-Decrypter---Gone-Forever.html) due to legal issues; explanation available from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD_Decrypter).
DVD Shrink (http://www.dvdshrink.org/what_en.php) - Creates backups (harddrive images or burnable files) of DVDs; download locations for installation file here (http://www.dvdshrink.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10056&sid=ca6b856cc2e0b5b280b9502269b4123c) or via search engine (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=dvd+shrink+download&btnG=Search).
IrfanView (http://www.irfanview.com/) - Fast, low-resource graphics viewer, supporting a great variety of file formats, including full-screen slideshow functionality.
_________________________________
Audio
dbPowerAmp (http://www.dbpoweramp.com/dmc.htm) - A neat little tool for converting your audio files between pretty much any and all formats you can think of. It comes ready with an MP3 codec, but there's a load more just waiting for you to download as needed HERE. (http://www.dbpoweramp.com/codec-central.htm) (I only use the convertor tool linked above, but there's a suite of tools available - CD ripper, Audio player, etc.)
Mp3tag (http://www.mp3tag.de/en/) - very useful program for batch tagging of mp3s. Also FAST, unlike itunes and the like.
Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) - audio editing and conversion.
Exact Audio Copy (http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/) - CD Audio Extractor.
Medieval Cue Splitter (http://www.medieval.it/content/view/28/70/) [Formerly developed and distributed under brand of "Enfis The Paladin".] - Splits compressed audio files (.mp3, .ogg., .flac etc.) into separate tracks if you have/create the according cue sheet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cue_sheet_%28computing%29).
MP3Gain (http://mp3gain.sourceforge.net/)- Analyses and adjust the volume of .mp3 files, so as to make them sound roughly equally loud, by altering the ID tags; this is a lossless procedure that can be undone.
______________________________________
Video
VLC (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/) - I reckon you're probably mostly well aware of this little gem, but it's a video player that will handle damned near anything you can throw at it. Great if you've got a video file that Windows Media Player can't handle, and it also has a reasonably small footprint
SUPER Video Converter (http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html)- converts beween a huge number of formats. Very useful to convert movies into a format suitable for playback on ipods.
Handbrake (http://handbrake.fr/) - DVD to MPEG4 converter
K-Probe (http://www.k-probe.com/) - DVD media quality testing software for Liteon drives.
______________________________________
Other
Dosbox (http://www.dosbox.com/)- a DOS emulator, so you can play all your old DOS games and apps.
7-Zip (http://www.7-zip.org/)- File archiver supporting multiple formats (.zip, .rar, .7z etc.).
SiSoftware Sandra Lite (http://www.sisoftware.co.uk/index.html?dir=dload&location=sware_dl_all&langx=en&a=)- System analyser that tells you what hardware (mainboard, CPU, Ram, harddrives etc.) is in your computer; free for personal/educational use.
PortableApps (http://portableapps.com/) - is a good resource for applications of all kinds that you can install and run from a USB disk, ie. you don't have to go through the painfull windows install process and have it dump files everywhere.
______________________________________
Security
AdAware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad_aware_free.php)and Spybot S&D (http://www.safer-networking.org/) - both do spyware detection.]
AVG Free Edition (http://free.grisoft.com/) - regularly-updated virus scanner.
Avira AntiVir Personal (http://www.free-av.de/en/download/1/avira_antivir_personal__free_antivirus.html)- Virus protection, including guard; free for personal use.
Comodo Firewall Pro (http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/download_firewall.html) - Firewall including malware defense, detailed adjustments (if wanted).
Zone Alarm (http://www.zonealarm.com/) - Firewall
Sophos Anti-Rootkit (http://www.sophos.com/products/free-tools/sophos-anti-rootkit.html) - Anti-Rootkit application.
______________________________________
Internet
Mozilla Firefox (http://http//www.mozilla-europe.org/en/products/firefox/) - Fantastic free web browser that makes Internet Explorer look and feel positively archaic. 'Nuff said.
Mozilla Thunderbird (http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/products/thunderbird/) - The e-mail client equivalent of Firefox. Not quite so revolutionary as Firefox, but does the job exactly as it's meant to.
Mozilla Sunbird (http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/sunbird/) - for those that want Outlook Calendar features but don't want outlook.
Pidgin (http://www.pidgin.im/) - instant messenger that works across many different providers, ie. aol, MSN, yahoo.
Trillian (http://www.ceruleanstudios.com/) - same as above.
Miranda IM (http://www.miranda-im.org/) - Basic, low-resource, fully customisable instant messaging client; protocols (ICQ, AIM, Jabber, MSN etc.) are added via plugins (http://addons.miranda-im.org/).
mIRC (http://www.mirc.com/) - Internet Relay Chat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_relay_chat) client.
SmartFTP (http://www.smartftp.com/) - Clearly arranged FTP client that supports SFTP over SSH; compatible with RTSR FTP server ;); free for non-commercial use.
SyncBack Freeware (http://www.2brightsparks.com/downloads.html#freeware) - Backup and synchronisation tool, highly customisable via GUI (include/exclude by file format/folder/date etc., exclude specific files etc.).
A Bit Torrent client that for some reason I can't manage a to post a link to. But I guess you could always Google It. (http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=utorrent&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a)
______________________________________
Media (General)
ImgBurn (http://www.imgburn.com/) - lightweight CD / DVD / HD DVD / Blu-ray burning application.
DAEMON Tools Lite (http://www.daemon-tools.cc/dtcc/download.php?mode=ViewCategory&catid=5)- Emulates optical devices so as to mount images (.iso, .nrg (Nero), .cue sheets etc.) you made of CDs, DVDs etc.
DVD Decrypter (http://www.dvddecrypter.org.uk/) - Burns DVD images (.iso, .bin, .nrg etc.) or copies of audio and video files from DVD to DVD-R/RW; development discontinued (http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/DVD-Decrypter---Gone-Forever.html) due to legal issues; explanation available from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD_Decrypter).
DVD Shrink (http://www.dvdshrink.org/what_en.php) - Creates backups (harddrive images or burnable files) of DVDs; download locations for installation file here (http://www.dvdshrink.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10056&sid=ca6b856cc2e0b5b280b9502269b4123c) or via search engine (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=dvd+shrink+download&btnG=Search).
IrfanView (http://www.irfanview.com/) - Fast, low-resource graphics viewer, supporting a great variety of file formats, including full-screen slideshow functionality.
_________________________________
Audio
dbPowerAmp (http://www.dbpoweramp.com/dmc.htm) - A neat little tool for converting your audio files between pretty much any and all formats you can think of. It comes ready with an MP3 codec, but there's a load more just waiting for you to download as needed HERE. (http://www.dbpoweramp.com/codec-central.htm) (I only use the convertor tool linked above, but there's a suite of tools available - CD ripper, Audio player, etc.)
Mp3tag (http://www.mp3tag.de/en/) - very useful program for batch tagging of mp3s. Also FAST, unlike itunes and the like.
Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) - audio editing and conversion.
Exact Audio Copy (http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/) - CD Audio Extractor.
Medieval Cue Splitter (http://www.medieval.it/content/view/28/70/) [Formerly developed and distributed under brand of "Enfis The Paladin".] - Splits compressed audio files (.mp3, .ogg., .flac etc.) into separate tracks if you have/create the according cue sheet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cue_sheet_%28computing%29).
MP3Gain (http://mp3gain.sourceforge.net/)- Analyses and adjust the volume of .mp3 files, so as to make them sound roughly equally loud, by altering the ID tags; this is a lossless procedure that can be undone.
______________________________________
Video
VLC (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/) - I reckon you're probably mostly well aware of this little gem, but it's a video player that will handle damned near anything you can throw at it. Great if you've got a video file that Windows Media Player can't handle, and it also has a reasonably small footprint
SUPER Video Converter (http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html)- converts beween a huge number of formats. Very useful to convert movies into a format suitable for playback on ipods.
Handbrake (http://handbrake.fr/) - DVD to MPEG4 converter
K-Probe (http://www.k-probe.com/) - DVD media quality testing software for Liteon drives.
______________________________________
Other
Dosbox (http://www.dosbox.com/)- a DOS emulator, so you can play all your old DOS games and apps.
7-Zip (http://www.7-zip.org/)- File archiver supporting multiple formats (.zip, .rar, .7z etc.).
SiSoftware Sandra Lite (http://www.sisoftware.co.uk/index.html?dir=dload&location=sware_dl_all&langx=en&a=)- System analyser that tells you what hardware (mainboard, CPU, Ram, harddrives etc.) is in your computer; free for personal/educational use.
PortableApps (http://portableapps.com/) - is a good resource for applications of all kinds that you can install and run from a USB disk, ie. you don't have to go through the painfull windows install process and have it dump files everywhere.