Free Programs Every Windows User Should Have

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List of Free Open Source Alternatives to Norton Ghost

This list is not a long list but it is a good list for people looking for a free alternative to Norton ghost. As the open source projects listed below (in no particular order)mature they just keep getting better and better leaving the end user with software that is a great alternative to the commercial gold standard. The list was made so you dont have to sift throgh thousands of search engine results for the same three apps.


Free, Open-source Ghost
Free, Open-source Ghost (FOG) is a computer imaging suite that is designed to be a free alternative to Ghost or Zenworks. It can be used to image Windows XP and Vista PCs using PXE, DHCP, PartImage, and a Web GUI to tie it all together.

FOG is good for anyone running Windows XP and Vista with a single partition. Right now FOG can only handle a single partition on the hard disk. FOG is currently being used by many schools and small businesses who can't afford the licensing of commercial products like Ghost.



Cyber Punk Cafe: List of Free Open Source Alternatives to Norton Ghost

Recover Deleted Files Freeware - Recuva | Alfred's Tech Blog

Deleted an important file or cleared your camera’s photos accidentally ? Then you need a software to recover those files. Most of the softwares that do this are paid ones, since they know how precious your data is. We had posted about RecoverMyFiles (paid) but now we have a free software that can do this for you.

Recuva is a freeware that can help you recover deleted files from your hard drive or memory cards. Even if you emptied the Recycle bin, this software can help you to get back the files.

When a file is deleted, windows does not actually delete the whole file, it only deletes the tag which shows the OS that the file exists. The data will remain on your hard drive till it gets overwritten by new data. If you want to securely delete files, we have did a post on How to securely delete your data.

It is better to have Recuva installed on your system, since if you delete an important file and go online to search for it, temporary data will be written while browsing the internet, which could be written over the deleted data.

Recover Deleted Files Freeware - Recuva | Alfred's Tech Blog

The Free GOOD Software List

If you want software that works, doesn't cost an arm and a leg, contains no spyware and just plain doesn't suck - you're at the right place. 

If you don't see a program listed here, it is probably not a good idea to download it. However if you know of a good piece of software that's not listed, please let me know so I can test it. If it passes all the testing, it will be added.

I am always updating and testing free software. I will not add something here unless I approve of it. None of these carry ANY - spyware, ad-ware , pop-ups. All "trial" software includes FULL functionality. If your software made it to this list, congratulations. We appreciate your work.

If you know where to look - there is no reason to "buy" software. Please donate to the makers of the software if you use it.

Ramsinks

Portable Freeware -

AbiWord Word Processor	AcroPAD Simple PDF writer
Alarm Timer Alarm Timer	Angry IP IP Scanner
Arcanoid Arcade Game	Audacity Audio Editor
Autoruns Installation/Configuration	Avast Anti Virus
Baby FTP FTP Server	Baby Web Web Server
BBLean Shell for Windows	Bean Maker Source Code

See full list here:
Portable Freeware -

foobar2000

foobar2000 is an advanced freeware audio player for the Windows platform.

Some of the basic features include full unicode support, ReplayGain support and native support for several popular audio formats.

foobar2000

The Portable Freeware Collection - Latest entries

portable freeware,portable software,software for usb drive

The Portable Freeware Collection - Latest entries

Try Ubuntu Linux on your Windows machine

Now you will have a chance to experience Linux on your Windows machine. This is accomplish by using Wubi installer.

According to How to Forge (who already tried testing this software), Wubi is an Ubuntu installer for Windows that lets you install and uninstall Ubuntu from a Windows desktop. Wubi adds an entry to the Windows boot menu which allows you to run Linux. Ubuntu is installed within a file in the Windows file system (a loopmounted partition), this file is seen by Ubuntu as a real hard disk.

That way the hard drive does not have to be repartitioned before the Ubuntu installation. The resulting Ubuntu installation is a "real" Linux system, not just a virtual machine.This is really a good news to the newbies out there who wants to be familiarize to Linux environment without compromising their Windows partitions. If you don't like it, you can uninstall it anyway and revert it back to your old Windows OS.

Take note, installing this software does not guaranty you of an instant success installation, you will have to be fully responsible of your undertakings. If your a person who wants to learn and play around to something new this is for you.

Wubi is an officially supported Ubuntu installer for Windows users that can bring you to the Linux world with a single click. Wubi allows you to install and uninstall Ubuntu as any other Windows application, in a simple and safe way. Are you curious about Linux and Ubuntu? Trying them out has never been easier!

Wubi  is Simple

No need to burn a CD. Just run the installer, enter a password for the new account, and click "Install", go grab a coffee, and when you are back, Ubuntu will be ready for you.

Wubi is Safe

You keep Windows as it is, Wubi only adds an extra option to boot into Ubuntu. Wubi does not require you to modify the partitions of your PC, or to use a different bootloader, and does not install special drivers. It works just like any other application. Wubi is spyware and malware free, and being open source, anyone can verify that.

Wubi is Discrete

Wubi keeps most of the files in one folder, and if you do not like it, you can simply uninstall it as any other application.

Wubi is Free

Wubi and Ubuntu cost absolutely nothing (free as in beer), but yet provide a state of the art, fully functional, operating system that does not require any activation and does not impose any restriction on its use (free as in freedom).

Stickies 6.5a - A computerised version of Post-It notes

Stickies : A computerised version of Post-It notes

Stickies was designed to store all information in a single text-based ini file.

Stickies will never support animated dancing figures, or play "Greensleeves". They are instead yellow rectangular windows onto which you can put some text notes. Once created, they will stay on screen until you take them away. Just like a real sticky piece of paper.

Stickies 6.5a - A computerised version of Post-It notes

IrfanView

- Official Homepage - one of the most popular viewers worldwide

IrfanView is a very fast, small, compact and innovative FREEWARE (for non-commercial use) graphic viewer for Windows 9x/ME/NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista.

It is trying to be simple for beginners and powerful for professionals.

IrfanView is trying to create new and/or interesting features in its own way, unlike some other graphic viewers, whose whole "creativity" is based on feature cloning, stealing of ideas and whole dialogs from ACDSee and/or IrfanView! (for example: XnView has been stealing/cloning features and whole dialogs from IrfanView, for 7+ years).

IrfanView was the first Windows graphic viewer WORLDWIDE with Multiple (animated) GIF support.
One of the first graphic viewers WORLDWIDE with Multipage TIF support.
The first graphic viewer WORLDWIDE with Multiple ICO support.


Some IrfanView features:

• Many supported file formats (click here the list of formats)
• Multi language support
• Thumbnail/preview option
• Paint option - to draw lines, circles, arrows, straighten image etc.
• Toolbar skins option
• Slideshow (save slideshow as EXE/SCR or burn it to CD)
• Show EXIF/IPTC/Comment text in Slideshow/Fullscreen etc.
• Support for Adobe Photoshop Filters
• Fast directory view (moving through directory)
• Batch conversion (with image processing)
• Multipage TIF editing
• File search
• Email option
• Multimedia player
• Print option
• Support for embedded color profiles in JPG/TIF
• Change color depth
• Scan (batch scan) support
• Cut/crop
• IPTC editing
• Effects (Sharpen, Blur, Adobe 8BF, Filter Factory, Filters Unlimited, etc.)
• Capturing
• Extract icons from EXE/DLL/ICLs
• Lossless JPG rotation
• Many hotkeys
• Many command line options
• Many PlugIns
• Only one EXE-File, no DLLs, no Shareware messages like "I Agree" or "Evaluation expired"
• No registry changes without user action/permission

IrfanView

Copy Handler Speeds Up File Copying

Free, open-source application Copy Handler speeds up Windows file transfers up to seven times in addition to providing advanced features for copying and moving files, like pausing, resuming, and restarting transfers.

Similar to previously mentioned TeraCopy, Copy Handler is a perfect tool for improving the default copy-and-move operations that your computer performs daily, especially if you're frequently moving large files. With optional integration directly with your normal copy-and-paste shortcuts and right-click menu, the app can even auto-resume transfers on error or on system restarts.

Apart from all of that, Copy Handler is also wildly customizable and provides several different views depending on how much power you need for any given copy.

Copy Handler is free, Windows only.

Copy Handler

AVG Free Edition

Review version: 7.5.503

Product Link - AVG Free

I have used AVG Free Edition off-and-on for several years now. And while it has not always scored the highest in detection rates, it is simple to install, simple to use, and is very light on system resources.

Installation - No registration currently required. Just download and install. Piece of cake.

Interface - AVG may not be the best looking girl at the ball, but she’ll turn a head or two. Though the looks are spartan, the interface is easy to navigate. Here is the Control Center.

And here is the Test Center.

Updating - AVG offers automatic updates, making it an effective set-and-forget piece of software. You can also easily make updates silent.

Footprint and Scanning - AVG is remarkably light on system resources. In 2003 I replaced Norton with AVG and was amazed at how much faster my computer booted and ran. It was like a breath of fresh air.

By default, AVG will try to schedule a complete system scan every 24 hours, though you may easily opt out. When doing a complete scan, I appreciate the option to automatically shut down the computer when the scan is complete.

It took AVG approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes to finish a complete scan of my system, which includes about 400 gigabytes worth of files. Of course, your mileage will vary.

Types of Protection - AVG offers real-time protection, on-demand scanning, and an e-mail scanner. It does not scan for spyware or offer firewall protection. To some this may be a downfall, but it is a feature in my opinion. I prefer programs that “do one thing, and do it well.” The included e-mail scanner is handy for people who rely on POP3 programs such as Outlook and Thunderbird.

EICAR Test - Here is a link where you can download a harmless test file that should be detected as malicious by antivirus programs. It is NOT a real virus. In order to test the effectiveness of a program, I download the EICAR test file to my desktop and start counting to see how long it takes the antivirus program to find it.

It only took AVG a couple seconds to find it and provide options on what to do with it. “Healing” deleted the file.

Final Thoughts - AVG is one of the most popular antivirus software programs for a reason. Yes, there are probably more effective commercial programs available, but most of them will rob you of both your money and your system resources. I have no problem recommending AVG to anyone who wants a free antivirus program, though I suggest that you install a separate anti-spyware utility.

FreeRip 3

Sure, there are a lot of applications that “rip” CDs. iTunes is one that I use frequently, but if you just want to rip or convert some music, iTunes is a bit on the excessive side. Plus, its formats are limited in comparison to FreeRip 3

Using FreeRip 3 , you can currently save audio tracks to WAV, MP3, WMA, OGG and FLAC. You may also easily convert from one format to another. I really like FreeRip 3 , but hope to see them add AAC in the future. (Aside: the FreeRip 3 installer gives you the option to install the MySearch toolbar, but you can opt out easily.)

PrimoPDF

Like it or not, the ability create PDFs is essential now. Windows by default cannot create PDFs, but it can with the addition of utilities like PrimoPDF, which installs as a virtual printer. Once it is installed, you may “print” to it from any application that can print. Though there are many similar applications, I like PrimoPDF for its ability to “merge” PDFs together. For those interested, it also allows for file security, such as limiting viewing and printing unless you supply the specified password.

I recommend using PrimoPDF in conjunction with the free Foxit Reader, a PDF viewer that runs circles around Adobe Reader in terms of installation and loading speed.

PrimoPDF

Filezilla

Way back in the day, I used WS_FTP. Now I exclusively use Filezilla for my file transfer needs. It supports SFTP, allows for bandwidth speed limits, and easily saves server settings.

Best of all, it seamlessly combines with text editors (such as Notepad++) for quick-and-dirty file editing on the remote server!

Filezilla

GanttProject

If you need to do any project management, GanttProject will help you get everything organized. As the name implies, it uses Gantt charts and resource load charts to help break a project into a tree of tasks, complete with dependencies.

GanttProject even allows you to exchange data with Microsoft Project, though you may find that you have no reason to do so.

GanttProject

InfraRecorder

Need CD/DVD burning software for Windows? It doesn’t get much better than InfraRecorder (by the same author of TUGZip).

InfraRecorder can burn audio/data discs. It can handle multi-session discs, creation and burning of disc images (ISO and BIN/CUE), and can even save audio/data track information to separate files.

InfraRecorder

RSSOwl

RSSOwl is a cross-platform RSS reader. It allows you to easily track updated content on multiple sites. I really like the tabbed interface.

I find RSSOwl especially useful on a laptop, but on my always-connected desktop I prefer a web-based RSS reader, such as Google Reader.

RSSOwl

PDFCreator

PDFCreator allows you to create PDFs from any program that can print. Once it’s installed, simply “print” to the virtual printer that it creates, and the resulting document can be read on any computer with Adobe Reader (or comparable software).

There are several similar programs, but if you dig open-source software, PDFCreator trumps many of the others.

PDFCreator