1. Anti-virus and malware protection. Most PC users realize that they need protection on their computer or may have an installed anti-virus program from their computer manufacturer. What most don't realize is that there are free programs that are just as good and in some cases better than the commercial products. Below are our recommendations.
Anti-virus program: Avast! or AVG
2. Backup solutions. There are dozens of free and commercially available backup programs for computers. Unfortunately many of those backups are stored locally, meaning if your house were to catch fire, get robbed, or if you lost your backup discs all your data would be lost. This is why when dealing with important data we suggest users use online backup services.
Online backup solution: Mozy or Dropbox
3. Browsers. Although Microsoft Internet Explorer comes pre-installed on Windows computers. There are several excellent free alternatives that everyone should try. These free alternatives can often be faster, have more options, and in many cases be more secure than Internet Explorer.
Internet Browser: Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome
4. Compression utility. When downloading files on the Internet you'll eventually encounter a .zip, .rar, or other compressed file. Dealing with these files can be easy with our below free file compression utility.
File compression utility: 7-Zip
5. Disc ripper and creation utility. Creating an audio or data CD/DVD, ripping the data from an audio CD, or creating a CD from a .ISO file can also be done freely using our below free recommendation.
CD burner / ripper utility: CDBurnerXP
6. Image editor, paint program, and picture organizer. There are many great free solutions for editing, creating, and organizing your images on your computer. Many of the programs capable of doing these tasks can be several hundred dollars, but all of the below programs are completely free.
Image editor: GIMP Paint program: Paint.net Picture organizer: Google Picasa
7. Multimedia. There are dozens of different multimedia programs with different capabilities and limitations. Below are our top free multimedia programs for watching video files and recording audio.
Audio editing and creating tool: Audacity Video and DVD Player: VLC
2. Backup solutions. There are dozens of free and commercially available backup programs for computers. Unfortunately many of those backups are stored locally, meaning if your house were to catch fire, get robbed, or if you lost your backup discs all your data would be lost. This is why when dealing with important data we suggest users use online backup services.
Online backup solution: Mozy or Dropbox
3. Browsers. Although Microsoft Internet Explorer comes pre-installed on Windows computers. There are several excellent free alternatives that everyone should try. These free alternatives can often be faster, have more options, and in many cases be more secure than Internet Explorer.
Internet Browser: Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome
4. Compression utility. When downloading files on the Internet you'll eventually encounter a .zip, .rar, or other compressed file. Dealing with these files can be easy with our below free file compression utility.
File compression utility: 7-Zip
5. Disc ripper and creation utility. Creating an audio or data CD/DVD, ripping the data from an audio CD, or creating a CD from a .ISO file can also be done freely using our below free recommendation.
CD burner / ripper utility: CDBurnerXP
6. Image editor, paint program, and picture organizer. There are many great free solutions for editing, creating, and organizing your images on your computer. Many of the programs capable of doing these tasks can be several hundred dollars, but all of the below programs are completely free.
Image editor: GIMP Paint program: Paint.net Picture organizer: Google Picasa
7. Multimedia. There are dozens of different multimedia programs with different capabilities and limitations. Below are our top free multimedia programs for watching video files and recording audio.
Audio editing and creating tool: Audacity Video and DVD Player: VLC
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