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Thread: Your complete computer application/tool FAQ

  1. #1
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    Exclamation Your complete computer application/tool FAQ

    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.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    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/Securit...e-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/

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    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-ant...s-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! 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.
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    i have used or still use every single thing there

    +1 for a good thread

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

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    Microsoft SysInternals specifically Process Explorer to see exactly what your machine is doing.

    SiSoft Sandra (Lite is free) for benchmarking, and narrowing down broken hardware.

    3D Mark for benchmarking your videocard.

    IrfanView 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 (free trial, shareware I think?) access hundreds of Windows tweaking options Microsoft doesn't want you to see.

    NetStumbler for finding WiFi devices...

    Firefox. This one needs to be at the top of the list +Mod Added.
    Last edited by Grogador; 12-17-2008 at 12:10 PM.

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    more coming too.
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    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.
    Last edited by adam c; 12-17-2008 at 12:14 PM.
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    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/s.../bb896649.aspx

    Gadwin Printscreen - Freeware screenshot utility that does the job simply and well.
    http://www.gadwin.com/download/ +Mod Added.
    Last edited by BigBadVlad; 12-17-2008 at 12:12 PM.

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    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.
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    Nero used to be great but waaay too bloated now.

    ImgBurn ftw. + Mod Added.

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    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
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    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
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  12. #12
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    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.
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    +1 for Daemon Tools.

    Also, NoScript addon for Firefox 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

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


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

    Winrar
    http://www.rarlab.com/

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    ^^ already have it listed mang (winrar)
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    I'd like to challenge you all to find something besides WinRAR. That pop up is super annoying. Please?
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    Not free after 45 days.
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    btw MS Express 2008 Suite isn't an a word editing program, its a development system for programs, applications, websites and databases
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