AVG Free Antivirus: http://free.avg.com/download?prd=afe I have used this for years and it is reliable, updates very often, and you never have to pay for the definitions. I have not had a virus problem in years (not counting that burning pee episode).
GIMP http://www.gimp.org/ Not as full featured as Photoshop CS but certainly a lot CHEAPER! You can do almost everything with this photo editor. Not for the timid.
WinRAR http://www.rarlab.com/download.htm A compression tool used by many. Very useful to have and it is a small download.
AusLogic Disk Defrag http://www.auslogics.com/en/software/di ... g/download We all have to defrag our hard disk sometime and this tool is perfect for just that. Fast and user friendly.
The Electric Sheep Screensaver http://www.electricsheep.org/index.cgi?&menu=download This one is a personal fav of mine. You install and it downloads different screensavers as it is running. While you can not customize it very much, you will be amazed at the different screensavers that it produces. Please do not drop acid before using
Ventrilo http://www.ventrilo.com/download.php Used by our clan to keep in touch without having to use phones. Phones are so 1920s...
Skype http://www.skype.com/getconnected/ Get your friends and family on Skype and never pay long distance again. If you have a web cam, then you make video calls.
Mozilla Firefox http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/ Unless you have been living under a rock, you know about this great browser.
Mozilla Thunderbird http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/thunderbird/ Lots of great features in this email client. Secure, customizable, FREE!
Flock web browser: http://www.flock.com/ - fully customizable and social web browser which seems to market itself as the Myspace of browsers. Personally I haven't checked out that feature because I don't really care about anyone but myself, however it is very stable with intuitive navigation. I use to visit those websites that I'd rather my wife not find out about (Wave ). Anyway, what ever you use it for - it's simple, swift and like I said... fully customizable. Anybody that does web design should also check it out as it codes much like Netscape used to.
Advanced System Care: http://www.iobit.com/advancedwindowscareper.html - a daily system diagnostics utility that runs well with AVG. Features include Windows Maintenance, ie; spy-ware removal, registry fix, privacy sweep, junk file clean. Also defrags, optimizes your system, security defense/analyzer + much more. Full version allows the user to customize many settings, free version requires user to manually run every day. Awesome software even if you only use the free version!
Windows Defender: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/produc ... fault.mspx - Microsoft product that continually runs in the background and does a complete system scan per user configuration. Pop-ups, performance, and spy-ware support.
Winamp: http://www.winamp.com/ - most have probably already heard or used this one, but just in case - a really awesome media player. Blows WMP out of the sky!
InfanView: http://www.irfanview.com/ - hardy little image viewing/editing software. Customizable, swift, compact. Again - nothing like Photoshop but well worth the DL for the every day user. I even run Phtotoshop CS almost everyday and still use this program for file navigation and viewing. + many many plug-ins available from the site.
UT Cache Converter: http://modsquad.beyondunreal.com/review.php?id=52 - Another software that most here probably already use - but just in case. This one converts all of your UT cached files (mods, maps etc) and puts them into the appropriate systems folders for everyday use.
Soulseek: http://www.slsknet.org/ - ad free, spy-ware free file sharing software. Much like napster used to be and virus free unlike Limewire - screaming fast DL's, and intuitive navigation. Great software for building your video/music collection.
Dream Aquarium: http://www.dreamaquarium.com/ - as a tropical fish/aquarium enthusiast myself - this is a great screen saver that allows you to set up your own aquariums as a screen saver. Probably the most realistic screen saver of the sort with individual fish personalities and great graphics. I liked it so much I actually paid for the full version. Like $20 for full. Updates available about every two-three months. free version is cool too!
Connect Fusion: http://www.connectfusion.com/ - DL accelerator and manager, ad free, spy-ware free. I've gotten sucked into a few of these that didn't even work worth a flip and were filled with spy-ware. This one actually works and works well alongside your browser speeding up laggy DL's and reconnecting to ones that drop.
http://www.lavasoftusa.com - Ad Aware. There is a free version of this and it rocks. Just run it once a week or once a month and your system will be squeaky clean.
Mozilla Add On - Its called Ad Block Plus. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1865This thing is wicked. It blocks any advertisements on web pages so you don't have to deal with those pesky things.
McAfee Site Advisor - http://www.siteadvisor.com/ - rates specific results through various search engines letting you know which pages are safe to enter and which are not. Runs inside your browser.
KEEP THEM COMING!
). Anyway, what ever you use it for - it's simple, swift and like I said... fully customizable. Anybody that does web design should also check it out as it codes much like Netscape used to.
