Grönbeck

IDG Sweden recently ran an article titled Här är de 20 bästa gratisprogrammen (The 20 best freeware programs). I thought I would expand a little bit on that and try to put together a useful list of totally free software, freeware, that I use or would use or could use on my own Windows XP computer. Proof, once and for all, that you don’t need to run out and spend thousands of dollars on software to get the functionality that you need. Proof, once and for all, that you don’t need to run off to Pirate Bay to download cracked software to get the functionality that you want.

This list of freeware is based on my needs. It won’t, for instance, feature any free C# editors, since I don’t code in C#. It will however feature some HTML, XHTML and CSS editors since I do some coding in that.

Also, for a program to be featured on this list, it will have to be totally free from any fees and, optionally but not mandatory, free from ads. This means that shareware, free trials and the likes don’t qualify since I either have to stop using the program or have to start paying fees to keep using the program. Donationware is ok, as long as it is optional and not mandatory to donate. Likewise Ad-supported software is ok as long as it is done with some common sense and respect for the user.

Enough already! On with the list! D

Audio

Audacity – Recording and editing sound files

Video

VLC Media Player – MultiMedia Player
SMPlayer – Multimedia Player based on MPlayer
BSPlayer – Videoplayer
Virtualdub – Video editing software
ASF recorder – For recording ASF-streams. (Note: Not sure about this one)
Orbit Downloader – Downloader for streaming rich media

CD/DVD burning

InfraRecorder – CD/DVD Audio/Video burner with built-in ripper
ImgBurn – reading/writing images, supports a large number of image formats
Free Easy CD DVD Burner – Burn data/audio, copy discs, ripper
MediaCoder – Ripper, Encoder for different Audio/Video formats

Office/PDF

OpenOffice – Office suite software
PDF Creator – Print driver for creating PDF documents
Sumatra PDF – Small PDF Reader

Pictures/Photos

Gimp – Photo editing and retouching
Paint.Net – Image and photo editing
Picasa – Organize photos

Voice/Chat

Skype – Call people on the web or IRL, VOIP software
Miranda – Chat/IM client that supports many IM-providers

Security

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition – One of the best free Anti-Virus software out there
Comodo Free Firewall – Free Firewall
Comodo BOClean – Free Anti-Malware
Comodo AntiVirus – Free Anti-Virus
Spybot – Search & Destroy – One of the best Anti-Malware
PeerGuardian – Blocklist, for blocking “bad” ip-ranges
Bluetack – Blocklist manager

Coding

Notepad++ – Source code editor and notepad replacement

Internet/WWW

Firefox – Webbrowser
Thunderbird – Email client

Firefox Extensions that I use

Aardvark – For viewing CSS-code live on a page
Adblock Plus – Block ads
My Adblock startfile – For getting started using Adblock
Adblock Plus Element Hiding Helper – Helper to Adblock
del.icio.us – Del.icio.us social bookmarking toolbar integration
FlashGot – Download manager
FoxClocks – Clock(s) in Firefox statusbar
Gmail Manager – Manage your Gmail account(s)
Better Gmail 2 – Compilation of several Greasmonkey scripts that enhace the function and looks of Gmail, from Lifehacker
Greasemonkey – Add script-functionality to Firefox
Greasemonkey script: Gmail Super Clean – Leaner looks in Gmail
Greasemonkey script: Google Air Skin – Leaner looks in Google, not only Gmail but also Calendar and Reader
Greasemonkey script: Gmail Label Colors – Adding colors to labels in Gmail
Greasemonkey script: Folders4Gmail – Make the labels in Gmail appear like folders
Greasemonkey script: Gmail + Reader Integrator Integrate Google Reader into Gmail
Greasemonkey script: Gmail + Google Calendar Integrate Google Calendar into Gmail by adding a button for Calendar
Greasemonkey script: Google Calendar Show Week – Show week numbers in Google Calendar
Greasemonkey script: Google Calendar Textwrap Events – Wraps Events in Calendar
Greasemonkey script: Google Calendar – colorize Sat/Sun (start on Mon) – Colorize weekends, if your week starts with Mon.
Greasemonkey script: Google Calendar Remove Search Public Folders – Remove stupid button Search Public Folders
OneClick Installer for WordPress – Right-click on a link and choose to install plug-in or theme for WordPress
Print Context Menu – Add print to right-click
StumbleUpon Toolbar – Adds StumbleUpon toolbar
Torrent Finder Toolbar – Adds Torrent Finder toolbar
Yahoo! Mail Notifier – Notifies you when you have new mail on Yahoo! Mail

Misc. Tools

IZarc – Archive utility supporting many formats
CCleaner – Remove unused files from Windows, cleaning for speed and privacy
Filezilla – FTP solution, both client and server
RSSowl – RSS/News reader

Freeware Directories:

Webi.org
Snapfiles.com

That’s it. What did I miss? Did you find the list useful? Did you discover new software that you didn’t know about before? Leave a comment below and let me know.

By the way, I will be keeping this post updated as I discover, and start using, more and more free software. Check back for updates.

Updates:

2007-11-01. Just found this article called “Reinstall Windows and outfit your system with all freeware programs” on freewaregenius.com which is exactly the kind of thought I had in mind with this article. Very good reading and lots of tips on useful freeware programs.