Your complete computer application/tool FAQ

[Toms-SC]

Greetings,

This thread will focus on key applications & tools every PC should have that are legitimately FREE. From cleaning viruses to tweaking your machine I'll try to cover it all.

Have something cool to add to the list that every day people can use? Make a post and I'll add it to the FAQ. Are you looking for something specific? Post a question.

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Tools

Microsoft Private Folder
One of the best applications Microsoft has ever swept under the rug. Never heard of it? Well it only lived for a touch over a day before the pulled it due to Network Admin's complaining. You now have a folder which is locked & encrypted. If you forget your password your hooped! Just warning you now before you dump your porn collection in there.
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Security/Lockdown/Microsoft-Private-Folder.shtml

PDF to Microsoft Word Converter
Nothing really exciting to report. Converts a PDF into Word format.
http://www.hellopdf.com/download.php

Flyakite OSX
Ever wanted your XP machine to look and behave like Apple OS X without having to fart around with theme software? This will do it all from one simple .exe and WILL NOT slow your PC down.
http://osx.portraitofakite.com/

Daemon Tools
A ISO Image solution. Can burn ISOs and has the abilities for BluRay.
http://www.daemon-tools.cc/dtcc/announcements.php

Other alternatives include Alcohol 120% or ImgBurn

Gadwin Systems - PrintScreen
Print screen software that is better then MS Paint.
http://www.gadwin.com/download/

jZip
Is a unzipper like WinRAR but without the annoying pop up to register.
http://www.jzip.com/


TVersity
TVersity is used to stream media from a computer to any number of 3rd party devices. I use it to stream to my 360. It will automatically transcode when necessary and works with a ton of different devices. I mainly use it to stream Top Gear and IT Crowd episodes but movies work as well. - Mibz
http://tversity.com/

nLite
nLite is my favourite Windows slipstreaming tool. You can add service packs, hotfixes, drivers and other stuff. You can pre-select all of the install options creating a completely unattended install. On top of that you can choose services and features to install or not install. It basically gives you the exact OS you want straight from install. No tweaking necessary. It's great for situations where imaging isn't feasible. It's saved me hours doing reformat/reinstalls for friends and family. You can bring up your saved settings and tweak them whenever you want, like if you change hardware or want to swap out old drivers for new ones.

nLite + XP + SP3 + hotfixes + drivers for all systems in the house - bloat = 1 CD to rule them all. - Mibz
http://www.nliteos.com/

VirtualDub
VirtualDub is video capturing, editing and converting porn to share with your room mates. - D'z Nutz
http://www.virtualdub.org/

Audacity
Audacity is the most advanced open source sound editor. I use to use it a ton to make ringtones, its definitely commercial grade. - supe
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Gimp
Gimp is a photo editor and a fantastic Photoshop alternative.
http://www.gimp.org/

Paint.net
Paint.net is a photo editor that should be included instead of MS Paint. Many features that we would consider 'basic' is included and is damned easy to use.
http://www.getpaint.net/

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Applications

OpenProj
A open source alternative to Microsoft Project
http://openproj.org/

Open Office
Open Office is a Microsoft Office 'equivalent'. You'll be able to open/modify/save Microsoft Office files without issue.
http://www.openoffice.org/

Cute PDF
Cute PDF is a free PDF writer.
http://www.cutepdf.com/Products/CutePDF/writer.asp

AVG Home
AVG Home is a free virus scanner software that is not completely terrible nor a resource hog.
http://free.avg.com/download-avg-anti-virus-free-edition

Other alternatives include Avast! Home.

SpyBot Search & Destroy
One of the original killers of that nasty spyware. Many new products offer cleaning but none really offer proactive patching to prevent it from getting on your PC in the first place.
http://www.safer-networking.org/index2.html

Other alternatives include Malwarebytes and Microsoft Defender.

CCleaner
The best program I've used to deep clean my PC after months of abuse. Follow this up with a computer defragmention and breath some life back into your PC.
http://www.ccleaner.com/

K-Lite
K-Lite is used for playing whatever extension video you could ever imagine. Includes a massive Codec pack which is updated regularly & a slimmed down version of Microsoft Classic media player!
http://www.codecguide.com/

VLC Player
Many swear by vnc format for playing their video. This is not an alternative to K-Lite listed above but is an additional necessity to any savvy media player.
http://www.videolan.org/

uTorrent
Many will argue but uTorrent is one of the strongest Torrent clients out there. They continue to push R&D into defeating throttling by the Canadian ISPs! :devil: They are getting damn close and Bell is scared.
http://www.utorrent.com/

Mozilla Firefox
Does anybody still use IE? Seriously get with the program people. This is what I would consider the best internet explorer currently out there (and supported).
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

Another alternative is Google Chrome.

[GQBalla]

i have used or still use every single thing there

+1 for a good thread

[CivicDXR]

+2 used everything up there so far with the exception of MS Private Folder

[Grogador]

Microsoft SysInternals (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/default.aspx) specifically Process Explorer (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/sysinternals/bb896645.aspx) to see exactly what your machine is doing.

SiSoft Sandra (http://www.sisoftware.net/) (Lite is free) for benchmarking, and narrowing down broken hardware.

3D Mark (http://www.futuremark.com/) for benchmarking your videocard.

IrfanView (http://www.irfanview.com/) for browsing/resizing/cropping pictures and such, very light, does batch processing, has some basic Paint-like editing functions now too! Over 1 million downloads per MONTH.

TweakXP (http://www.tweakxp.com/tweakutility/) (free trial, shareware I think?) access hundreds of Windows tweaking options Microsoft doesn't want you to see.

NetStumbler (http://www.netstumbler.com/) for finding WiFi devices...

Firefox. (http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/firefox/) This one needs to be at the top of the list ;) +Mod Added.

[Toms-SC]

more coming too. :)

[adam c]

i would add
primo pdf (pdf creator) http://www.primopdf.com/
google chrome (internet) http://www.google.com/chrome +Mod Added.
malware-bytes (spyware) http://www.malwarebytes.org/ +Mod Added.
vuze (torrent) http://www.vuze.com/

edit more
also WinRar http://www.rarlab.com/
and the MS Express 2008 Suitehttp://www.microsoft.com/Express/Download/ +Mod Added.

[BigBadVlad]

VLC media player, free, plays everything and is easy to use but has a whack for stuff hidden under the hood for power users (video on demand, on the fly transcoding...).
www.videolan.org +Mod Added.

PSTools - Great set of command line tools for use at work.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896649.aspx

Gadwin Printscreen - Freeware screenshot utility that does the job simply and well.
http://www.gadwin.com/download/ +Mod Added.

[Toms-SC]

Remember I am looking for FREE software. I'll be updating the thread for the next bit with things I remember and you all suggest.

Currently looking for ISO, CD, DVD Burner/Writer software.

[Grogador]

Nero used to be great but waaay too bloated now.

ImgBurn (http://www.imgburn.com/) ftw. + Mod Added.

[adam c]

everything i listed is free, winrar will pop up a message that you need to purchase it but you don't need to, it's 10000x better than the built in windows program

[adam c]

Originally posted by Toms-SC

Currently looking for ISO...

Alcohol 120%http://www.alcohol-soft.com/ + Mod Add

or Daemon Toolshttp://www.daemon-tools.cc/ + Mod Add

[Toms-SC]

Think like a none-technical person for a moment. I want to burn a music CD and a DVD with porn to share with my room mates.

[Grogador]

+1 for Daemon Tools.

Also, NoScript addon for Firefox (http://noscript.net/) is great, blocks Java/JavaScript/Flash to keep you safe but allows you to unblock them easily and whitelist sites. Makes you pretty much invincible on the www ;)

[adam c]

Originally posted by Toms-SC
Think like a none-technical person for a moment. I want to burn a music CD and a DVD with porn to share with my room mates.

every windows computer has the option of burn to disk, no need to download anything there if you want to keep it simple for non-technical person then

[cityhunter2501]

+1 to everything listed here especially irfanview and malware-bytes


Auslogics Disk Defrag
http://www.auslogics.com/disk-defrag

Winrar
http://www.rarlab.com/

[adam c]

^^ already have it listed mang (winrar)

[Toms-SC]

I'd like to challenge you all to find something besides WinRAR. That pop up is super annoying. Please? :love:

[adam c]

winzip then
http://www.winzip.com/

[Toms-SC]

Not free after 45 days. :poosie:

[adam c]

btw MS Express 2008 Suite isn't an a word editing program, its a development system for programs, applications, websites and databases

[adam c]

Originally posted by Toms-SC
Not free after 45 days. :poosie:

ah you're so picky

http://www.jzip.com/ + Mod Added.

:poosie:

[Toms-SC]

Originally posted by adam c
btw MS Express 2008 Suite isn't an a word editing program, its a development system for programs, applications, websites and databases

Got it confused with the basic Microsoft Office that is loaded on OEM machines. I forget the name. :banghead:

[alloroc]

Doesn't windows have zip built in?

Select the files you want, right click and pick send to compressed (zipped) folder.

[Toms-SC]

Fantastic work on helping out on the list everyone. :thumbsup: I've got more to add but I'm still at work. Will add more tonight. :clap:

[adam c]

Originally posted by Toms-SC


Got it confused with the basic Microsoft Office that is loaded on OEM machines. I forget the name. :banghead:

they usually load MS 2007 60 day evaluation version


Originally posted by alloroc
Doesn't windows have zip built in?

Select the files you want, right click and pick send to compressed (zipped) folder.


yea but it's complete garbage

[A790]

Originally posted by adam c


they usually load MS 2007 60 day evaluation version
I think he's referring to Microsoft Works.

[Toms-SC]

Originally posted by A790

I think he's referring to Microsoft Works.

There is that POS. It's not even free!

[Mibz]

nLite (http://www.nliteos.com) is my favourite Windows slipstreaming tool. You can add service packs, hotfixes, drivers and other stuff. You can pre-select all of the install options creating a completely unattended install. On top of that you can choose services and features to install or not install. It basically gives you the exact OS you want straight from install. No tweaking necessary. It's great for situations where imaging isn't feasible. It's saved me hours doing reformat/reinstalls for friends and family. You can bring up your saved settings and tweak them whenever you want, like if you change hardware or want to swap out old drivers for new ones.

nLite + XP + SP3 + hotfixes + drivers for all systems in the house - bloat = 1 CD to rule them all.

TVersity (http://www.tversity.com) is used to stream media from a computer to any number of 3rd party devices. I use it to stream to my 360. It will automatically transcode when necessary and works with a ton of different devices. I mainly use it to stream Top Gear and IT Crowd episodes but movies work as well.

[D'z Nutz]

VirtualDub (http://www.virtualdub.org/) - Video capturing, editing and converting porn to share with your room mates.

[Toms-SC]

Thanks Mibz and D'z Nutz. Loaded both of those up :clap:

[Grogador]

FYI, Daemon Tools doesn't burn, it just mounts image files to use in a "virtual DVDROM". Use ImgBurn (http://www.imgburn.com/) for burning.

[dr_jared88]

Open source version of a Microsoft Project alternative.

OpenProj
http://openproj.org/ + Mod added

[supe]

I cant believe nobody mentioned gimp

GIMP (http://www.gimp.org/) - why pay for photoshop (legitimately) + Mod added

Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) - the most advanced open source sound editor. I use to use it a ton to make ringtones, its definitely commercial grade. + Mod added

[adam c]

Originally posted by supe
[B]I cant believe nobody mentioned gimp

... why pay for photoshop...


cause i don't think anyone really does anyways?

[supe]

edited.

[Oz-]

Photo editing tool for me, done by some Wash. State Uni students while at MS.
http://www.getpaint.net/ + Mod added

HiJack this
http://www.hijackthis.de/

[Lagerstatten.ca]

PortableApps.com

They have software suites that's all open source and will run on any USB storage device (keys, ipods, etc). Software includes (and is not limited to):

-Firefox
-OpenOffice
-Malwarebytes
-CCleaner
-InfraRecorder (cd burning program)
-VLC
-Pidgin (IM program - supports MSN/ICQ/AIM/Yahoo/IRC, etc)
-jkDefrag (so much faster than the one included in Windows)

And so much more. I have a 2GB USB key loaded with a bunch of these portable apps and a bunch of other IT troubleshooting apps and I can fix most computer issues.

All the software is also free and most of them are opensource as well.

[beecue]

How do you not have ImgBurn on here? :D
http://www.imgburn.com/

nvm just saw it .. but it's the best

AltBinz is pretty sweet if you use Usenet .. free as well
http://www.altbinz.net/

mkv2vob for converting x264 to watch on PS3 .. http://www.videohelp.com/tools/mkv2vob

[01RedDX]

.

[adam c]

crossloop - remote desktop assistance, easy to use and free
www.crossloop.com

[beecue]

is there any way to change the location of Private Folder from desktop?

[adam c]

what do you mean private folder?

[beecue]

this .. http://www.softpedia.com/get/Security/Lockdown/Microsoft-Private-Folder.shtml .. when I installed it automatically placed it on desktop .. don't know how to move it

[GQBalla]

also have used logmein

remote desktop from anywhere that has internet connection -

its decent - not the best but it does the job and free for the very basic one

[Toms-SC]

I am still updating and still playing with the format of the thread. Kick ass content so far. I've added many of these applications to my personal PC's. :love:

[winefan3]

best xxx password website/tool?

[Alterac]

Kobe :D lol

[al-ti2d]

when i try to install Microsoft Private Folder, a message pops up saying that I have compatibility issues and cannot continue the install. is anyone else having this problem??

[Toms-SC]

Originally posted by al-ti2d
when i try to install Microsoft Private Folder, a message pops up saying that I have compatibility issues and cannot continue the install. is anyone else having this problem??

Only works on XP :poosie:

[Cowtown_Raider]

I use Driver Cleaner Pro when updating video card drivers. Removes the old crap out. Looks like it's $9.99 from the web site, but still free versions available for download.


http://www.afterdawn.com/software/desktop_software/other_tools/driver_cleaner_pro.cfm

[Toms-SC]

Anybody have a slick budgeting software?

[Dumbass17]

Originally posted by Toms-SC
Anybody have a slick budgeting software?
im' using Quicken 2009. if you purchase it you can actually download your statements/bank activity directly to it. (the download bank activity doesn't seem to work with canadian banks yet) i don't do that cuz i find if i manually input everything, then i can actually see where my money goes. you can set up budgets, track your spending, categorize, everything. its' great.
try Quicken Cash Manager from futureshop for $40 and let me know if the bank activity download feature works

[Toms-SC]

Originally posted by Dumbass17

im' using Quicken 2009. if you purchase it you can actually download your statements/bank activity directly to it. (the download bank activity doesn't seem to work with canadian banks yet) i don't do that cuz i find if i manually input everything, then i can actually see where my money goes. you can set up budgets, track your spending, categorize, everything. its' great.
try Quicken Cash Manager from futureshop for $40 and let me know if the bank activity download feature works

Going with the theme of the thread, open source.

[QuasarCav]

Thanks to everyone that provided these links. I am not as computer savvy as I would like to be and some of these programs really helped.

Thumbs up to CCleaner.

[adam c]

Fox Read It, easiest to use PDF software out there, you can even edit the PDF's
http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php

Plus there's also all the Google Tools available such as
-picasa, image editing
http://picasa.google.com
-sites, create your own website
http://sites.google.com
-or download a pack of tools
http://pack.google.com/intl/en/pack_installer.html

[supe]

+1 for picasa, its not just an image editor, its a photo library too. Once you upload to the web, there is a face tagging feature like facebook except the kicker is it uses facial detection to help tag all the faces for you! I was able to tag thousands of pictures in 10 mins.

tightVNC for people who want to remote desktop

tightVNC (http://www.tightvnc.com/)

[Dumbass17]

Originally posted by Toms-SC


Going with the theme of the thread, open source.
my bad!

[Oz-]

Foobar2000 - audio player (http://www.foobar2000.org/)

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.

Main features

* Supported audio formats: MP3, MP4, AAC, CD Audio, WMA, Vorbis, FLAC, WavPack, WAV, AIFF, Musepack, Speex, AU, SND... and more with additional components.
* Gapless playback.
* Full unicode support.
* Easily customizable user interface layout.
* Advanced tagging capabilities.
* Support for ripping Audio CDs as well as transcoding all supported audio formats using the Converter component.
* Full ReplayGain support.
* Customizable keyboard shortcuts.
* Open component architecture allowing third-party developers to extend functionality of the player.

[adam c]

some new software to add to this list

WSS 3.0 (Windows SharePoint Services) - more for the IT pros
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=D51730B5-48FC-4CA2-B454-8DC2CAF93951&displaylang=en

MS SteadyState - way more control over your computer
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/sharedaccess/default.mspx

[cityhunter2501]

anyone know a good free software that works with network multi-function printers that allows to scan multiple documents and convert to PDF?

using Adobe Standard and CutePDF pro, but wondering if there's a free alternative

[Everlast]

Anyone using another program for your ipod/iphone other than Itunes?

[Vagabond142]

Wow, last post in this thread 03/31/09. Anyways, for those out there that want an alternative to K-Lite for the codec pack, there is the Combined Community Codec Pack. It's a bit lighter than K-Lite, but holds every codec you need for regular and HD video viewing.

http://www.cccp-project.net/

[msouther]

Didn't want to start another thread, so anybody know a good place to take a PC to get a cleanup. We have a Dell 5150 and it is about 3 years old. Running really slow and sounds like it is going to explode sometimes. Thanks!

[Alterac]

MemEx

[mikepal]

hi i have problem with my laptop's hardisk because i had loaded linux and before also i have loaded linux and taken it off safely but this time i made a mistake while partioning it with partition magic and then i could only use linux and couldn't use windows so i removed linux but dint change the partion type from ext2 (i guess not very sure) but the problem that i'm facing now is that it somehow merged with one of my windows partition and i'm not being able to either load windows nor view the partition from desktop too its says its corrupted so i wanted to know if you know about any data recovery software that i can use to recover the data from it ???
thanks

[Supa Dexta]

Not sure if microsoft security essentials was listed yet, but I'm liking it so far.

[Grogador]

CCleaner is already in the first post, but Piriform software (http://www.piriform.com/) has other useful free tools like:

Recuva (http://www.piriform.com/recuva) - full-featured file recovery tool ("undeleter")
Defraggler (http://www.piriform.com/defraggler) - well-made filesystem defragmenter
Speccy (http://www.piriform.com/speccy) - (beta) lightweight system information tool

:thumbsup:

[Grogador]

Secunia (http://secunia.com) (a well-known, reputable security company) has, among other things, a tool called the Personal Software Inspector (http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/). It will scan your installed applications, plugins and windows updates to make sure they're all up to date, without any known vulnerabilities. The v2 beta will even automagically update certain supported applications for you. It sure beats checking/configuring/updating 50 apps manually and will make a huge difference in keeping your machine "clean".

[alloroc]

Originally posted by Grogador
Secunia (http://secunia.com) (a well-known, reputable security company) has, among other things, a tool called the Personal Software Inspector (http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/). It will scan your installed applications, plugins and windows updates to make sure they're all up to date, without any known vulnerabilities. The v2 beta will even automagically update certain supported applications for you. It sure beats checking/configuring/updating 50 apps manually and will make a huge difference in keeping your machine "clean".

I load this and run it one or two times a year.

[alloroc]

Don't forget UBUNTU!!!!

Almost 4 months and have yet to touch windows except for making AV disks etc to fix other folk's computers.

The only downside is some of the linux games are lacking. There are some good ones and most popular windows games can be run in "wine"

http://www.ubuntu.com/


Super-fast and great-looking, Ubuntu is a secure, intuitive operating system that powers desktops, servers, netbooks and laptops. Ubuntu is, and always will be, absolutely free.

Ubuntu Features
http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/features

Ubuntu Applications
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Applications

[rlim891]

I would say 7zip is far more superior then jzip.

malwarebytes is also a good one instead of spybot.

as for a video player that plays anything, i strongly recommended Splayer.
http://www.splayer.org/index.en.html

[R!zz0]

When it comes to video players, i'm assuming VLC is not the best when compared to other free players?

[rage2]

I've had no problems with VLC. Seems to play everything nicely.

[Stealth22]

Originally posted by R!zz0
When it comes to video players, i'm assuming VLC is not the best when compared to other free players?

On the contrary...I'd rate VLC at the top when it comes to free media player software.

[schocker]

VLC is all I ever use.

[R!zz0]

I was using powerdvd for my 3D movies, but now it doesn't work for some odd reason. I called Epson and their call center is somewhere in the Philippines. It's very hard to hear them and they have ZERO product knowledge. I tried VLC and it works great, but the only problem that i have is that i have to set my projector to side by side because the "Auto" feature doesn't work on my projector. Other than that, i have no issues with VLC. Also, i had no idea that you can watch 3D movies on VLC without a 3D TV on your PC. You will need 3D glasses obviously.

[revelations]

When something doesent play, or play right, I use VLC.

Its not the best for some of the higher end media, but as a generic player for EVERYTHING video, its the best right now.