To fully utilize the capabilities of your computer, having the right software is essential, especially free software. In this article, we introduce some notable free software from the past year, based on rankings from TechSupport.
Web Browsers
It’s no surprise that Internet Explorer was quickly upgraded to version 7.0 in response to the overwhelming competition from more feature-rich programs. Leading the pack is Mozilla Firefox. Compared to IE, Firefox offers better protection against viruses, spyware, and pop-ups, and it provides a significantly faster browsing experience. With tabbed browsing, Firefox also offers users over 600 extensions to enhance functionality. Features like Clear Private Data and Live Bookmarks, along with support for DHTML formats, ensure you can trust this web browser. If you’re not satisfied with Firefox, you might want to try Opera, which is also highly rated. Both browsers made the list of the top 100 products of 2005 as chosen by the reputable PC World magazine. Download here: http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/ (5.0MB), http://www.opera.com/ (3.7MB).
Search Toolbars
Instead of going to the homepage of Google or Yahoo! to search, simply download the toolbar and search the web directly. Yahoo’s Toolbar is currently favored by users for its built-in anti-spyware and pop-up blocking features. Although Yahoo’s Toolbar is only available for IE, a trial version for Firefox is now available. If you prefer Google, you’ll find compelling reasons to use their product as well. Google Toolbar offers spell checking and several features not available in Yahoo’s Toolbar. While it lacks anti-spyware, Google does have a complete version for Firefox users and pop-up blocking similar to Yahoo! If you want comprehensive results from multiple search engines, Dave’s Quick Search Bar will meet your needs. Dave’s also includes a dictionary, glossary, calculator, and many other utilities. Download here: http://toolbar.yahoo.com/ie (3MB), http://www.dqsd.net (327KB), http://toolbar.google.com/deskbar/ (447KB).
Web Mail Clients
You have two options: first is YPOPs! – a program that allows you to receive mail from your Yahoo! mailbox through Outlook, Thunderbird, or Eudora. With this software, you can register to receive mail from multiple Yahoo! Mail accounts. The second option is MrPostman, which surpasses YPOPs! by allowing you to download emails from Hotmail, Lycos, Yahoo, and other webmail services. If you only use Yahoo! Mail, it’s best not to use MrPostman as it can be quite complex and requires Java Runtime Environment. Download here: http://yahoopops.sourceforge.net/ (1.3MB), http://mrpostman.sourceforge.net (1.5MB), http://sourceforge.net/forum/?group_id=68124 (MrPostman Forum).
Bookmark Cleaner
AM-DeadLink will scan your bookmarks to find dead links or duplicates, leaving you to simply delete them. This software is very effective in helping you identify which links are still active. Download here: http://aignes.com/press/deadlink140.htm (546KB).
Antivirus Software
You can choose from three products to combat viruses. First is AVG Antivirus 7.0, which has been around since 1991 and continues to be updated. It’s lightweight, automatically updates regularly, and scans for viruses in emails; AVG Antivirus is indeed a high-quality product. The second option is Avast!, which is comparably good. However, Avast! requires you to register regularly. AntiVir is your final option, offering slightly better protection than AVG and Avast! but does not scan email. When using AntiVir as an additional program, be sure to disable the Auto Protect feature during installation to avoid conflicts with your primary antivirus program. Download here: http://free.grisoft.com/ (AVG Antivirus), http://www.avast.com (Avast! 5 MB), http://www.free-av.com (AntiVir 6.8 MB).
File Cleaner
While there are many commercial software options for deleting unnecessary temporary files on your hard drive, the free software Empty Temp Folders has been rated the best. It takes just a few minutes to install, and with a single click, you can free up several megabytes of disk space. Another easy-to-use option is CCleaner. Although it’s not as effective as Empty Temp Folders for deleting temporary files, it also offers an Uninstall software function. You can use both products to ensure you free up as much disk space as possible. Download here: http://www.danish-shareware.dk/soft/emptemp (667KB), http://www.ccleaner.com (403 KB).
File Compression Software
7-Zip is an open-source product that allows you to compress and decompress various file formats. Notably, 7-Zip is the only program capable of decompressing RAR files embedded within other ZIP files. However, with the ability to work with over 50 different compressed file formats, including ISO, BIN, and IMG, IZarc is truly the best decompression program available. With the efficiency of 7-Zip and the versatility of IZarc, it’s time to replace WinZip and even WinRAR. Download here: http://www.izarc.org/download.html 3.1MB, http://www.7-zip.org 1.05 MB.
Desktop Search Tools
Once again, Yahoo! is the first name mentioned. Presenting results clearly, Yahoo! DTS is advantageous as it can search over 300 different file formats, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, Outlook, Outlook Express, HTML, ZIP, Adobe Photoshop, and even emails in Outlook and Thunderbird. However, Yahoo!’s product cannot search for websites in History. If you need this functionality, Google DTS is clearly the one you should download. Version 2.0 of this product not only helps you find websites in your History but also integrates a toolbar in Outlook, searches Google mail, and provides a sidebar for viewing images, news updates, and scratch pad features—very attractive and useful, though it takes up some desktop space. Note that to use these search tools, your computer must have at least Windows 2000. If your PC does not meet this requirement, you may try Copernic Desktop Search. It still provides all the basic functions as the two programs above, but Copernic’s result presentation is not as clear as Yahoo! DTS. Download here: http://desktop.yahoo.com/, http://desktop.google.com (1.4MB), http://www.copernic.com/en/products/desktop-search/download.html (2.3MB).
Photo Viewing Software
One thing is for sure: Picasa will impress users with its beautiful interface and functionality. On first launch, the program will suggest scanning for images and videos on your hard drive, and within minutes, you’ll have organized files sorted by timeline. For viewing photos, you have three options: view each image, slideshow, and timeline—a fun feature that truly embodies “Picasa.” In terms of photo editing capabilities, the program supports you better than ACDSee with many professional editing tools. This Google family product also allows you to load images from your camera in various formats, including RAW. Additionally, from your photo library, you can print, create a CD of materials, send images via messaging, or blog. Download here: http://www.picasa.com (3.2MB).
