List of Free Useful Programs.

[Bryansix]

Yup!!It is actually a vital and to priority program that one should have it in their systems.

It does have licensing restrictions though and for now is free only for home use or small businesses with 10 or less computers.

[xmustanguyx]

Isn't K-lite questionable as far as licensing goes? I it's free but isn't there some proprietary stuff in there that your are Supposed to pay for? Just asking.

[Ceseuron]

You forgot the BEST anti-virus program. Microsoft's Security Essentials is taking top spot for most IT departments-not only because it is free, but it is actually a superior product.

Speaking from the perspective of someone who is in IT for a living, Wherryj is right. We actually dumped Trend Micro's OfficeScan client/server setup in favor of Security Essentials at my office. No more lame "subscriptions", annual fees, support contracts, or maintenance overhead for the win.

[moond0ggie]

Great thread, Monkey,

Major Geeks
This site has everything & well organized.
They have PC support forums & a specific Malware Removal forum where the pros walk you through restoring your OS from malice.

On that note Combofix is great utility to rid malicious programs that take over your OS.

[Cowboy T]

I would add that OpenOffice.org has been forked due to concerns about Oracle owning the copyrights.

That fork is called LibreOffice, created by the vast majority of the original OpenOffice.org team. Just about all the GNU/Linux distros have adopted LibreOffice now, and it's more feature-filled.

http://www.libreoffice.org/

As with the original OpenOffice.org, it is available for GNU/Linux, Mac OS, and MS Windows. There is also a "portable" version for those running MS Windows, that runs directly from a USB thumb drive.

.

[Johnnyfres]

http://www.nirsoft.net/

Great collection of tools.

[oldsmoboat]

Photo editing

http://www.getpaint.net

[707electrician]

DraftSight - Free CAD software, exactly like AutoCAD

[glock 357]

http://www.osalt.com/ is an open source alternative. If you type in adobe "something" they will show you an open source alternative to that program. Found some cool apps here but some are just like any open source software sometimes buggy and no support.

[Tripper]

is Zone Alarm still any good, i havent used that for over 10 years i think

[Jel]

A great site to get a many free and useful apps is www.ninite.com.

You go to the site, you check off the applications you want installed, and it generates a small installer executable. You run the executable and it installs all the applications you checked off without you having to lift a finger.

No more downloading each and every app separately and then having to install each and every one.

They try and keep up with the latest versions, but occasionally you'll run into an application that isn't quite the latest.

Still for what it does, I think it's a great site.

Jel

[billofrights]

I second ninite.com, I use them all the time for new installs. Another good resource is pcdecrapifier.com. If you buy your computers instead of build them, there's usually a lot of pre-installed garbage on there. This program lets you tick off what you want removed and it will pull it all off. Especially useful to get rid of all the trial software you find on laptops.

[virahunter]

great computer resources!!

you can install multiple sofwares at once with no charge. check this out:

http://ninite.com/

[Jel]

you can install multiple sofwares at once with no charge. check this out:

http://ninite.com/

You wouldn't have happened to read the two posts before yours...possibly? Maybe?

[texas_law_dog]

Screenshots http://getgreenshot.org/
Disc diagnostic http://download.cnet.com/CrystalDisk...-10832082.html