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The Official Collection of Free Programs! (Updated 5/26/08!)

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snoblo

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Jul 25, 2007
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361
WEE STICKY!
(yay colors! =D)
updated 5/26/08



Due to increasing amounts of threads about which programs to use for whatever, I've decided to make a whole collection of nice, free programs to use! This list is by no means complete, so feel free to let me know if you have any suggestions/additions/corrections/complaints.

All of these programs are completely free (free as in free beer, not freedom), unless otherwise noted.

Please use these programs at your own risk. So if using one of these programs, your computer internally combusts, blows up in your face, kills your dog, and then burns your house down, leaving you homeless with eyeball cancer, I am NOT to be blamed. That is all.

Sections
I. Internet Browsers
II. Security
III. Office Apps
IV. Video/Audio (look here for converting to different formats!)
V. Instant Messaging
VI. Image Editing
VII. Internet Misc.
VIII. Programming, etc
IX. Miscellaneous
X. Other useful links (including Linux distros)


I. Internet Browsers

Mozilla Firefox
Description: The famous alternative browser to Internet Explorer. I like it a lot because of it's very customizable (with lots of add-ons!), and the performance is great.
Operating System(s): Virtually all
License: Open Source (MPL, GPL, LGPL)
Extra: Portable Version (for Windows)
Portable Version (for OS X)

Opera
Description: Another great and fast web browser, with lots of features.
Operating System(s): Virtually all
License: Freeware
Extra: Portable Version (Windows only)

Avant Browser
Description: There are some times when one visits a site that requires Internet Explorer to work. There Firefox extension IETab works well, but Avant Browser is pretty good as well.
Operating System(s): Windows
License: Freeware
Extra: A Portable version is available on the site.



II. Security

Ad-Aware Free
Description: A popular program that scans for spyware. However, the real time protection is only available in the paid version.
Operating System(s): Windows
License: Freeware (for personal use)

a-squared free
Description: A great malware removal program, and is very easy to use
Operating System(s): Windows
License: Freeware

Spybot S&D
Description: Another program that scans for and removes spyware and other malware.
Operating System(s): Windows
License: Freeware (its own license?)

ZoneAlarm free
Description: Many 'free' firewalls out there are really crippled, but ZoneAlarm is fully functional providing good protection for the average user. For increased protection, there is the paid version.
Operating System(s): Windows
License: Freeware (for personal use)

AVG Free
Description: A popular free anti-virus program, that has all the basic protection you need. The paid version has more benefits, however.
Operating System(s): Windows
License: Freeware (for personal use)

Avast Anti-Virus Home Edition
Description: Also another great anti-virus program, with a non-crippled free version, as well as a commercial one.
Operating System(s): Windows
License: Freeware (for personal use)

SmitfraudFix ~suggested by SkylerOcon
Description: An anti-virus program that takes some basic computer knowledge to operate. It's primary function is to get rid of trojans, or rouge programs such as virus heat or subzero.
Operating System(s): Windows
License: Freeware



III. Office Apps

OpenOffice Suite
Description: The most well-known alternative to Microsoft Office. It has virtually everything MS Office has, and is compatible with it also.
Operating System(s): Virtually all
License: Open Source (LGPL)
Extra: Portable Version (Windows only)


AbiWord
Description: An open source word processor, and is much more lightweight than OpenOffice.
Operating System(s): Virtually all
License: Open Source (GPL)
Extra: Portable Version (Windows only)



IV. Audio/Video

VLC Media Player
Description: A great lightweight program that can play almost every type of file format out there (audio and video).
Operating System(s): Virtually all
License: Open Source (GPL)
Extra: Portable Version (Windows only)

Audacity
Description: A great sound editor with lots of features. It can record sounds as well.
Operating System(s): Virtually all
License: Open Source (GPL)
Extra: Portable Version (Windows only)

SUPER Encoder
--click HERE if you have trouble finding the download link--(I uploaded it myself to a file host for those who can't figure out the tricky website, haha)
Description: A GUI front-end to various video and audio encoders, and can convert from any file format to almost any other format. I'm quite surprised to see how many commercial programs fail to reach even half of the features this program has.
Operating System(s): Windows
License: Freeware
Extra: For some reason, the download link is kind of obscured. Click "Start Downloading SUPER", then "download and use", and the download link is at the bottom of the page.

MediaCoder
Description: Another great program to encode video/audio files into all sorts of formats, and also makes batch encoding very easy.
Operating System(s): Windows, Linux (with WINE)
License: Open Source (GPL?)

Winff
Description: Another program to convert videos to different formats, GUI frontend to ffmpeg
Operating System(s): Windows, *nix
License: Open Source (GPL)



V. Instant Messaging

Pidgin
Description: Of all the instant messaging programs out there, the award for the coolest one goes to Pidgin. Pidgin, (formerly known as GAIM), is my favorite multi-protocol Instant Messaging client. It supports AIM, MSN, Yahoo, GTalk, and much more. It also comes with some neat plugins (My favorite is Idle Maker-- you can manually specify how long you have been idle for others to see =D) and other features.
Operating System(s): Windows, *nix, BSD
License: Open Source (GPL)
Extra: Portable Version (Windows only)

Adium
Description: Based on the same core (libpurple) as Pidgin.
Operating System(s): Mac OS X
License: Open Source (GPL)

Skype ~suggested by Eight Sage
Description: The popular Internet Phone service. Communicating PC to PC is free, however you need to pay to call a regular phone.
Operating System(s): Virtually all
License: Freeware

Trillian ~suggested by GOTM
Description: The popular all-in-one Instant Messaging application. The free version lacks some features (such as Jabber/GTalk and video chat), and the pro version is $25.
Operating System(s): Windows
License: Freeware



VI. Image Editing

Paint.NET
Description: Free image editor, and very simple to use. Can also be used as a replacement for Microsoft Paint.
Operating System(s): Windows
License: Open Source (Creative Commons)

GIMP
Description: The popular alternative to Adobe's Photoshop, it is very powerful with lots of features.
Operating System(s): Virtually all
License: Open Source (GPL)

Irfanview ~suggested by Buzz
Description: It's nowhere near as powerful as GIMP, but it loads incredibly fast (lightweight code), and it has all the essentials for making basic edits (crop, rotate, resize, scale, etc.). To top it off, it properly renders animated GIFs.
Operating System(s): Windows
License: Freeware



VII. Internet Misc.

Mozilla Thunderbird ~suggested by Kirby King
Description: A great email client from the makers of Firefox.
Operating System(s): Virtually all
License: Open Source (MPL, GPL, LGPL)
Extra: Portable Version (for Windows)
Portable Version (for OS X)


uTorrent ~suggested by SkylerOcon
Description: Small and fast bittorrent client.
Operating System(s): Windows
License: Freeware



VIII. Programming, etc

Dev-C++ ~suggested by Del Money
Description: Bloodshed Dev-C++ is a full-featured Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for the C/C++ programming language. It uses Mingw port of GCC (GNU Compiler Collection) as it's compiler. Dev-C++ can also be used in combination with Cygwin or any other GCC based compiler.
Operating System(s): Windows
License: Freeware

JCreator ~suggested by Del Money
Description: JCreator is a Java IDE with lots of features.
Operating System(s): Windows
License: Freeware, also has a paid version with more features

Notepad++
Description: Microsoft's notepad may be adequate for simple tasks, but Notepad++ has much more features and is also quite fast. (I am still horrified when computer programmers use notepad! Maybe it's just me, but with no syntax highlighting, auto-indentation, and tabbed windows, my eyes would scream in agony!) Plus, it is also suitable for everyday use.
Operating System(s): Virtually all
License: Open Source (GPL)
Extra: Portable Version (Windows only)

jEdit
Description: Written in Java, this text editor is great for programmers. It is easily customizable, and lots of plugins for added functionality are available on the site.
Operating System(s): Virtually all
License: Open Source (GPL)

HTML Kit ~suggested by Kirby King
Description: Full-featured text editor for HTML, javascript, php, etc. Extra features are available in the paid version.
Operating System(s): Windows
License: Freeware



IX. Miscellaneous

CCleaner
Description: CCleaner is a nice program that frees up your hard drive from useless temporary files, and also cleans the registry as well.
Operating System(s): Windows
License: Freeware
Extra: CCleaner is also portable app. =)

7-Zip
Description: A great alternative to Winzip or Winrar, and is fully featured and able to open most compression formats.
Operating System(s): Windows
License: Open Source (LGPL)
Extra: Portable Version (Windows only)

UPX
Description: Free and portable executable packer.
Operating System(s): Windows, *nix
License: Open Source (GPL)

Pandora Recovery ~suggested by Eight Sage
Description: A powerful tool to recover lost/deleted files, even after re-formatting a hard drive.
Operating System(s): Windows
License: Freeware

Unlocker ~suggested by Goldberg
Description: "Unlocks" certain files that cannot be deleted, giving the error "Cannot delete that: It's being used by something Windows can't even tell you what it is so you can close it" message.
Operating System(s): Windows
License: Freeware



X. Other Useful Links

The I Want to Create a Game Thread!

(GNU/)Linux Distros (what you've been all waiting for!)
Ubuntu
A very popular Linux distro, especially among beginners. Easy to use and customize, and recently comes with the Wubi installer, which makes installation (and uninstallation) even easier.

Arch Linux (My personal favorite =D)
Arch Linux is an i686 optimized distro which is also lightweight. Geared more toward more advanced users, but not too hard for new users to learn. Arch is sometimes compared to gentoo in terms of speed (but has the advantage of less compiling), and I've found it the fastest distro I've ever tried :). Another thing I like about this distro is that you start up with a base system, only adding the programs you want (keeping it simple)


Whew that took a long time. I hope some people find this helpful! :)
 
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Eight Sage

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Excellent list snoblo.

Particularly, all of the most used free programs are there.

But why didn't you put Microsoft Messenger, AOL Instant messenger, etc? (Just for variety)
And it would be nice to have a section (or in messaging) that shows online phones, like Skype.
 
S

snoblo

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Jul 25, 2007
Messages
361
The reason I did not put AOL Instant messenger, Msn messenger, etc is because those are the default ones that everyone knows about (which is also why I omitted Microsoft Internet Explorer, MS Paint, and so on...because most people know them =P)

I'll add Skype, however. Thanks for the suggestion!
 
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Eight Sage

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snoblo said:
The reason I did not put AOL Instant messenger, Msn messenger, etc is because those are the default ones that everyone knows about (which is also why I omitted Microsoft Internet Explorer, MS Paint, and so on...because most people know them =P)
Click to expand...
Yeah I noticed that, they're so common that putting them in the list is redundant :laugh:

snoblo said:
I'll add Skype, however. Thanks for the suggestion!
Click to expand...
You're welcome!. I'll suggest more programs as they come to my mind LOL, this list will become a must in every PC.
 
Kirby King

Kirby King

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Good list. I noticed a lot of it is made up of programs I've used for awhile, so that's nice to see. :p

I think this could be a pretty good resource for people, so I'll sticky it. And there are tons more free programs out there that do things most people probably wouldn't even think about (though most people also do not visit SWF). I'd at least add Thunderbird to the list. mIRC could work too, but strictly speaking it's shareware. I would also recommend JazzWare as an awesome Windows/Linux MIDI sequencer (once you get used to the interface), but it looks like its website no longer works and I can't find another place to download it. (It is open source, so if I ever find the installation program I just might upload it somewhere.) Finally for now, HTML-Kit is a pretty cool programming tool that I use a lot on Windows.

If I get a chance later maybe I'll add some more info and links on this stuff, but what's here is a nice list of really useful programs.
 
S

snoblo

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Joined
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Messages
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Hmm I'll think about adding Operating Systems, such as Linux distros, but they're really not "programs". If some clueless people tried to install them, thinking they were cool programs, and then finding out everything they had on their computer was gone, they may freak out haha. I'll think about it though ;)

Also, thanks Kirby King for stickying this and for the suggestions! I hope lots of people find this list useful!
 
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Del Money

Smash Champion
Joined
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Messages
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A very awesome thread, if do say so myself. You should however add a section for development environments for programmers. I've also got more programs you should consider adding.

Development Environments:

- Dev C++ (for C/C++)
- JCreator (for Java - there's a pro and free version...or and be sure to download the Java development kit first from http://www.sun.com/download/index.jsp?cat=Application%20Development&tab=3&subcat=SDKs%20(Software%20Development%20Kits))
- ActivePerl (for Perl
which sucks, btw...the language, not the enviroment
)

Easy Game Creation:

- Game Maker (simple game creation software - $18 to register for full version, otherwise it's free with some limits)

That's all I got for now. There's way more out there that I know of for useful programs, but I'm too lazy at the moment to type anymore...
 
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Surgo

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Under programming, gvim and (x)emacs both work on Windows and are...well, they're gvim and (x)emacs, what more needs to be said?

gcc has been ported there too, but I know that Microsoft at least has a free C++ compiler. Not sure about C.

I suppose cygwin would be a decent link too. Not good for programming anything that needs to be portable and fast, but most people who need a link to this sort of stuff aren't going to be concerned about that at this point.
 
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snoblo

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Joined
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Messages
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Surgo said:
Under programming, gvim and (x)emacs both work on Windows and are...well, they're gvim and (x)emacs, what more needs to be said?

gcc has been ported there too, but I know that Microsoft at least has a free C++ compiler. Not sure about C.

I suppose cygwin would be a decent link too. Not good for programming anything that needs to be portable and fast, but most people who need a link to this sort of stuff aren't going to be concerned about that at this point.
Click to expand...
Most people who need a link to these stuff probably would know where to find it ;)
Ha, don't worry I'll add them in (not today though, i'm too lazy/busy/hungry) =D

knightzy said:
http://freezesms.emuunlim.com/download.html
a free leagal sms.nes.sgg.sg-100 etc. emulator more to come if people want them. i can also get free leagal roms too [if you want them.:laugh:] a good emulator with box art and cheats.
Click to expand...
hmm nice! Though I don't think I can put that sort of stuff up, since I don't think we're allowed to discuss emulators/roms and such (I've been warned about it before). Thanks anyway!
 
knightzy

knightzy

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hey it's legit and leagal so it should'nt be a problem,i dont do illegal emulators as such.gba and above etc.
 
Goldberg

Goldberg

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A misc. program that I've found useful, in case you want to delete something and get that "Cannot delete that: It's being used by something Windows can't even tell you what it is so you can close it" message (It goes something like that).

http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/

I hope someone else finds it helpful.
 
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snoblo

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to knightzy: I'll just play it safe and not add them, but if anyone is interested they can just refer to your post =).
and thanks to Goldberg!
 
SkylerOcon

SkylerOcon

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SmitFraudFix

An anti-virus program that takes some basic computer knowledge to operate. It's primary function is to get rid of trojans, or rouge programs such as virus heat or subzero.
 
D

DOWSER

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snoblo said:
Hmm I'll think about adding Operating Systems, such as Linux distros, but they're really not "programs". If some clueless people tried to install them, thinking they were cool programs, and then finding out everything they had on their computer was gone, they may freak out haha. I'll think about it though ;)

Also, thanks Kirby King for stickying this and for the suggestions! I hope lots of people find this list useful!
Click to expand...
yeah, that would be funny though.:laugh:
 
S

snoblo

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list updated! =D thanks SkylerOcon!

DOWSER said:
yeah, that would be funny though.:laugh:
Click to expand...
ha, true :laugh:.
however, now ubuntu comes with this wubi thing that supposedly installs ubuntu on windows like a regular program, but I've never tried it out.
 
TheBuzzSaw

TheBuzzSaw

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http://www.irfanview.com/

I strongly recommend this image-editing program. It's nowhere near as powerful as GIMP, but it loads incredibly fast (lightweight code), and it has all the essentials for making basic edits (crop, rotate, resize, scale, etc.). To top it off, it properly renders animated GIFs. This program is so good, I had it set (I don't use Windows anymore) to be the default program for ALL images I opened.
 
SkylerOcon

SkylerOcon

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More suggestions:

uTorrent: A torrent program. Self-explanitory, really.

Add an OS section. Linux, Unbuntu, Black XP, and many others are free and useful ways for your computer to operate.
 
derek.haines

derek.haines

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Some people prefer Media Player Classic to VLC. It's not as hardcore-centric and it plays just about as many different formats.

Foobar2000 and MediaMonkey need mention under the audio section. They're just about the two best media player programs ever. MediaMonkey is more your standard Windows Media Player-esque setup, with iPod docking and a whole host of neat features. Foobar2000 is notable because it leaves almost no RAM footprint.
 
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snoblo

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one day i will update...one day...

edit:
been INSANELY busy these days, but i will update someday! thanks for all the suggestions =]
and google chrome is amazing!
 
_Phloat_

_Phloat_

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thenerd said:
Another internet broser that should be considered is Google Chrome, its still in beta and a bit buggy however it has alot of functionality.

hope its added,
thenerd
Click to expand...

There is a topic in the PC Cafe (look down) if you want more info =]

I would recommend Chrome to be added too, it works great and is free.
 
streetracr77

streetracr77

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This is great, I didn't think there would be so many usefull programs.

Thanks ^.^
 
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