10 freeware programs essential for my computing life
November 23, 2011 72
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Although many of us may experiment with new programs regularly, all of us have a core set of programs that we need to have installed on our computers at all times; …otherwise armageddon proceeds. In this article I am going to share with you 10 freeware programs – out of my bucket of “core” programs – that are essential to my digital life; without them I would – simply put – be lost.
(Note: This list is in no particular order.)
CleanMem is quite possibly the best memory cleaning/optimization program I have even encountered. Not only does it (usually) clear up a good chunk of memory, but it works in such a way that users have no idea CleanMem is running. It does its job – with leaving little to no footprint on your computer - and gets out. Brilliant program.
Some may disagree with me when I say it, but Firefox is the cream of the crop when it comes to Internet browsers. Needing no introduction thanks to its hard earned fame, Firefox is a package which brings everything to the table: speed, efficiency, addons, security, and aesthetics. Sure Firefox is not the “best” in all categories but it is the best jack-of-all-trades out on the market right now.
Digsby is an instant messaging platform that allows users to integrate different instant messaging services, e-mail checking, and social network usage all in one program. Think of it as the desktop version of Meebo.
When it comes to screenshotting programs, there are tons of (free and commercial) choices people have. Ever since I started using FastStone Capture a couple of years back, I have fallen in love with the program. It is easy to use, feature filled, and has this lovely floating toolbar most other screenshot programs lack. In fact, everyday dotTechies enjoy the fruits of FastStone Capture’s labor – all screenshots on dotTech were taken using the program.
WinSplit Revolution is a program that allows users to easy resize/tile program windows. Although the concept of the program may not sound too flashy, in practical uses this is man’s best friend when doing any sort of work (that involves more than one program window) on the computer. Oh how many times I have counted my blessings for being able to use WinSplit to ease my pain when doing projects such as transferring data from source to spreadsheet.
Windows’ clipboard is possibly one of the worst designed aspects of Windows. Sure the idea of having a clipboard which can be used to copy/cut/paste stuff is nice, but there was a huge lack of hindsight into how there may be a conflict caused by the inability to copy/cut/paste multiple things at once. To help resolve this conflict, many programs have popped up. TenClips is one such program; TenClips gives users the ability to have 10 different clipboards. However, I find myself using TenClips’ ability to post purified text more than making use of all clipboards. In fact, I hardly ever post unpurified text anymore thanks to TenClips.
Most programs, when uninstalled, leave traces – such as registry entries or files – behind on your computer. RevoUninstaller is a program who’s goal is to help you perform “clean” uninstalls by removing leftover traces from uninstalled program; and RevoUninstaller has passed the test of time proving it truly is one of the best – if not the best – clean uninstaller out there. I don’t know what I would do without Revo.
WinPatrol is a nice little “supplement” to your computer’s line of defense. More or less, it is a computer “change” monitor; it monitors your computer for changes to things like file associations, startup programs, etc. and notifies you of the changes, asking you to either allow or disallow the change. It is extremely handy especially for people who install new programs on a regular basis. I can’t count how many times WinPatrol has saved me from programs that try to hijack my homepage.
Anyone that has ever worked with code knows how hard it can be to keep track of everything. Notepad++ is a program that aims to help deal with code in an easier fashion; it color codes code syntax for users. So while it may not be an idle platform to write a program, it makes editing code – such as for a website – very easy. I use it almost on a daily basis.
Once upon a time I used to use WinZip for my archive needs. Then I discovered 7-zip and never looked back. 7-zip is an open source answer to the likes of WinZip and WinRar. 7-zip allows users to work with archives, including .ZIP and .RAR formats, opening them, creating archives, etc. It even has its own .7z archive which far surpassed the likes of .ZIP and .RAR in areas like compression and security.
So you have just read a list of 10 programs I could not live without. I am sure you have some of your own. Feel free to share in the comments below.
My top ten….
Opera
AnVir Task Manager
Revo Uninstaller
Snap3
Notepad++
7zip
Samurize
Agent Ransack
Chameleon Startup Manager
Paint Shop Pro X2
I believe “Returnil” is the best program to use to investigate all of the other new programs, so as not to jeopardize my computer. Question is why it was not in your top ten?
@Lynton: 10 freeware programs essential for my computing life.
last i checked Returnil isn’t free.
@Samuel: Mine was free!
Go to returnil .com and scroll to the bottom of the page. click on the free button!
@Lynton: True. And for the most part I’m wrong then. But I would guess Ashraf was going for completely free programs, in that all the programs above are not stiped down free versions (from what I can tell anyway).
I NEED AbiWord (word processing), Gnumeric (spreadsheets), and BlackRa1n (to boot my iPhone). I also need Opera. Those are basically my essentials.
@Caleb: I also NEED iTunes.
1. Revo Uninstaller
2. Firefox
3. xplorer2 lite
4. Malwarebytes
5. sTab Launcher
6. Sandboxie
7. Rocket Dock
8. Paint.net
9. Comodo firewall
10. aTunes
Good list. I was using most of those tools back then when I was still on Windows. I’m now using a Tiling Window Manager (xmonad) on GNU/Linux: it rocks. Also I don’t need things like Revouninstaller or AV anymore. Feels good. Before Windows came onto the scene (DOS days) the PC was interesting. With Windows not anymore. GNU/Linux is what has brought the old days back for me. Keep it up!
@Samuel: Walk towards the light! Quickly, my son. Firefox awaits you!!!!
@phoophan: Sorry but I’m running IE9 beta and have NO, I repeat NO plans of jumping ship anytime soon!
proxo
firefox
crimson editor
agent ransack/filelocatorlite
kerio 2 or comodo
avira, tho switching to mse (also annoying, but in different ways)
wget
irfanview
7zip
winmerge
hostess [HOSTS manager. haven't tried others]
editpadlite
metapad
doublekiller
vlc
foobar2000
kmeleon
opera
akelpad
xnews
aiconsushi
nirext
desksave
filedate [nir]
xplorer2lite
foxit (pdf)reader
flvplayer
kmplayer
regalyzer
bkren
hijackthis
spybot
regshotuni
uniextract
sdp downloader
erunt
utorrent
fsum
[less frequent...]
Good list, but I cannot understand how you can live without a dual pane file manager. Windows Explorer is just not good enough for file management. I have been extremely satisfied with xplorer2lite for several years. But maybe you prefer a file manager that is not free?
One thing I could not do without is DESKPINS………… and it is free !!
“DeskPins can be used to make any application topmost, that is, to keep it above all other windows. Just grab a pin from the DeskPins icon in the system notification area (a.k.a. taskbar tray) and click on any window. This functionality is identical to the “Always on Top” setting found in some programs. With DeskPins you can add this feature to any program!”
http://users.forthnet.gr/pat/efotinis/programs/deskpins.html
This article may be over one year old but it is still surprisingly accurate: I still depend on most of the programs listed above!
It’s very difficult to winnow this down to a list of ten, but here goes:
7-Zip – Simply the best at what it does.
Q-Dir – Probably my most used program.
FastStone – I used PicPick before Ashraf’s review of FastStone.
Revo Uninstaller
Extreme Copy – I’m a recent convert from TeraCopy.
Firefox – Still tops in my book, especially with the memory leak finally fixed.
Unlocker
F.lux – Softens the computer screen as the day progresses.
CleanMem
iTunes
I know iTunes is reviled my many users of Apple products, but I don’t have any problems with it. I did on Vista, but no kinks on Seven.
I use Ditto as a clipboard manager,it stores no end of clips
Firefox used to be my favourite browser but with the latest version there were many bugs so I have gone over to Google Chrome and their help function sucks
Faststone Easy Capture is so good I paid for it, and then I bought licenses for two colleagues. I do not believe there is a free version anymore, but it is well worth the $20 if you use it heavily like I do. I own SnagIt but never use it because FastStone is so much quicker and easier. I have used Snap 4 and PicPik and find the same story, Easy Capture is better. If you can still get it for free, go for it.
XnView, Gimp and LibreOffice haven’t been mentioned.
Notepad2
Q-Dir
Everything
VirtualBox
NirSoft utilities
Irfan
yWriter
MPC-HC
Paint.NET
Ant Movie Catalog
@Steve:
v5.3 is the last free version, and can still be found if your Google-Fu is strong. I actually keep a copy on an external drive to have onhand when I reinstall Windows.
@Seamus McSeamus:
Firefox memory problem FIXED???????
When? How? What?