| Security: | Anti-Virus | Anti-Spyware | Firewall | Backup |
| Communication: | Instant Messaging | VoIP |
| Blogging & RSS: | Podcasting | RSS Aggregators | Blogging |
| Multimedia | Pictures | Video |
| File Downloading: | Bit Torrent | P2P | FTP |
| Web: | Web Browsers | Web Hosting |
| Productivity: |
Good anti-virus software is a must-have for any Windows user. I would avoid Norton Antivirus. It ranked very poorly against other packages (even some of the free ones), and was ranked worst for slowing down your computer. Also check out Virus Bulletin for independent rankings. You should never run more than one antivirus software.
Leo Laporte raves about NOD32 Anti-Virus from eset. It's a solid, non-intrusive anti-virus application with heuristic testing, meaning it can even catch unknown viruses. It comes highly recommended. If you're going to buy anti-virus software, this is the one to buy.
Website: http://www.eset.com/products/windows.php
Price: $39
Active Virus Shield is actually a version of Kaspersky Antivirus (ranked #1). The only controversy over this product is that it periodically gathers and sends usage data back to AOL. Also, you agree to permit AOL's affiliates to send you e-mail.
Download Link: [Download]
Price: Free
From lifehacker: " Slower but perhaps the most thorough for the worse-off machines. "
Company: alwil software
Download Link: [Download]
Price: Free
AntiVir ranked high on a recent comparison.
Website: http://www.free-av.com
Price: Free
Grisoft puts out a good free anti-virus tool called AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition. AVG ranked lower on the list of free antivirus software, but it does have heuristic testing, meaning it can catch unknown viruses.
Company: Grisoft
Download Link: [Download]
Price: Free
This opensource anti-virus software is probably the most unintrusive free anti-virus software out there.
Company: ClamWin
Download Link: [Download]
Price: Free
Trend Micro also provides a free online scan.
Price: Free
Microsoft has aquired GeCAD Software's antivirus technology. RAV is no longer being sold as a stand-alone product. However, they still offer a free online scan. It allows you to scan one file at a time.
Price: Free
Unlike anti-virus tools, it's actually recommended to install multiple anti-spyware utilities. Each one will catch certain nasties the others wont catch. Here are the must-have anti-spyware apps.
A while back, Microsoft bought GIANT Software for it's great anti-spyware tool. Since then, they changed the name to Windows Defender. They also give it away for free!
Company: Microsoft
Website: [Link]
Download Link: [Download]
Price: Free
Company: Kolla Software
Download Link: [Download]
Price: Free
Spyware Blaster doesn't work like the other anti-spyware tools. Instead of using a scanner, it simply blocks known spyware sites.
Company: Javacool Software
Download Link: [Download]
Price: Free
The best option to protect yourself online is a hardware firewall such as a router. If you have a spare computer layin' around, try Smoothwall.
If you have Windows XP with SP2, you already have a firewall! Simply navigate to Start > Control Panel > Security Center. Click "Windows Firewall" at the bottom, and select "On".
Company: Microsoft
Price: Free
Website: http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com
Price: Free
Backing up important data is something everyone should do on a regular basis. I would say once a month at a minimum.
This free backup software is one of the best backup utilities I've seen and you can't beat the price. This is what I use to backup my data daily.
Website: [Link]
Download Link: [Download]
Price: Free
Trilian allows you to use a single IM client to connect to AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo, Jabber, Google Talk, Skype, and even IRC. One contact list to rule them all!
Company: Cerulean Studios
Download:
[Purchase]
Price: $25
Not as extensible as the pro version, but it's free!
Company: Cerulean Studios
Download Link: [Download]
Price: Free
Miranda is an open source all-in-one IM client that supports AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo, Jabber, Google Talk, IRC, Gadu-Gadu, Tlen, Netsend, and more! Best of all, it's free!
Website: http://www.miranda-im.org
Price: Free
Voice over Internet Protocol allows you to make voice calls over the Internet!
I got rid of my traditional phone service for VoIP. Vonage lets you use your traditional phones to place calls over the Internet! For only $14.99/month, you get 500 minutes of calls to anywhere in the United States. For $24.99/month, you get unlimited calls! Among other great features such as getting your voicemail as an e-mail attachment, the sound quality is actually good. I recommend this to everyone!
Company: Vonage
From the makers of Kazza, this P2P Internet telephony solution "just works". Right now, you can call anywhere in the U.S. free using SkypeOut.
Company: Skype Technologies
Download Link: [Download]
I currently use FeedDemon's built-in podcatcher called FeedStation. It's availalbe from feeddemon.com.
Really Simple Syndication (RSS) provides a simple way for you to subscribe to all types of web content from news, audio, and even video!
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FeedDemon looks just like Outlook does, only instead of reading e-mail, you read RSS news feeds. Company: Newsgator Technologies, Inc |
Opensource - fully featured - free. This Java-based reader is available for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Solaris.
Link: RSSOwl.com
The great thing about Bloglines.com is that it's completely online.
Link: Bloglines.com
NewsGator.com is another online RSS aggregator. They also offer an Outlook plugin.
Link: NewsGator.com
Robert Scoble mentioned this one on his blog. It's an Outlook plugin. Has anyone tried it?
In the age of digital photography, you can easily accumulate huge ammounts of pictures. What's the point of taking so many digital pictures if you can't share them? Here's a few apps (online or PC-based) that do just that!
Website: http://picasa.com
Website: http://hello.com
Website: http://flickr.com
This free tool is a much needed update to Microsoft's Paint program that comes with Windows. It features layers, improved editing tools, unlimited history, and other more advanced features. Completely open source & written in C#.
Website: http://getpaint.net
Think of GIMP as the open source Photoshop.
Website: http://gimp.org
One of the most annoying things is to run into "Missing Codec" errors. The K-Lite codec pack contains over 50 codecs and filters.
Website: http://codecs.com/download/K_Lite_Codec_Pack.htm
QuickTime Alternative allows you to view QuickTime videos in Windows Media Player. Very useful!
Website: http://codecs.com/download/QuickTime_Alternative.htm
Similar to QuickTime Alternative, only for Real Media files.
Website: http://codecs.com/download/Real_Alternative.htm
VLC (initially VideoLAN Client) is a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, Ogg, OGM, MOV, wma, wmv...) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. It can also be used as a server to stream in unicast or multicast in IPv4 or IPv6 on a high-bandwidth network.
Website: http://www.videolan.org
Bit Torrent is a solution to transfering large files online. Visit http://bittorrent.com/ for more info.
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Azureus is an open source Bit Torrent client written in Java. It's my favorite client. Website: http://azureus.sourceforge.net/ |
The original BitTorrent client was written by Bram Cohen. Although it works, it lacks many features included in clients like Azureus. I've included the download link anyway for completeness.
Download Link: [Download]
Peer to Peer clients have come a long way since the original Napster. Although I don't regularly go on P2P networks anymore, my favorite client is eMule Plus.
Website: http://emuleplus.info/
Downoad Link: [Download]
Every once and a while, you need a good FTP client. I use LeechFTP.
Development has stopped on this client, but I've found that it offers more features than most other clients.
Website: http://stud.fh-heilbronn.de/~jdebis/leechftp/
Downoad Link: [Download]
Dump Internet Explorer for a much better web experience. Here are two great browsers to try. I personally use Firefox.
Open source. Secure. Tabs. Extensions. Goodness! This is the browser I use.
Website: http://mozilla.org
Price: Free
The fastest browser out there! Opera is also the most standards complient browser for Windows.
Website: http://opera.com
Price: Free
Want to host your own website? Here are the two hosts I recommend. I personally use 1&1.
This is the web host I recommend. They're inexpensive, offer a wide range of products, and are easy to setup.
Website: http://1and1.com
Beginner Package:
| Price | $2.99/month (6 months) 90-day Money Back Guarantee |
| Domain Name | 1 included |
| Subdomains | 25 |
| Web Space | 10 GB |
| Monthly Transfer Volume | 300 GB |
| FTP Accounts | 1 |
| Script Support | PHP3, PHP4, PHP5 |
| Database Support | MySQL (10 x 100 MB) |
| E-mail accounts | 600 |
| E-mail Aliases | 800 |
| Mailbox Space | 2 GB |
| 24-hour Support | Yes |
You may remember their superbowl commercials... They're slightly more expensive than 1&1.
Website: http://godaddy.com
Economy PLan:
| Price | $3.99/month (2 months) $3.19/month (24 months) |
| Domain Name | $2.24/year |
| Subdomains | 25 |
| Web Space | 5 GB |
| Monthly Transfer Volume | 250 GB |
| FTP Accounts | 1 |
| Script Support | PHP |
| Database Support | MySQL (10) |
| E-mail accounts | 500 |
| E-mail Aliases | 0 (included in the 500 ) |
| Mailbox Space | 10 MB |
| 24-hour Support | Yes |
PDF is a psudo-standard for sharing documents online.
Fast and free. Simply the best pdf viewer for Windows. Dump Adobe and try Foxit Reader.
Website: http://foxitsoftware.com
Price: Free
Why pay $300 - $450 to Adobe when you can use open-source PDF Creator for free?
Website: http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/
Price: Free
