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Sunday November 8, 2009 3:25 PM AEST
Skip Navigation LinksPC Authority > Features > Web's Best 50 Free Downloads
Web's Best 50 Free Downloads
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FEATURE

Web's Best 50 Free Downloads

24 comments in this discussion
"My top 3 freeware programs are: Firefox. FileZilla. Thunderbird."
By gotapok
 
Stack your system full of software without paying a penny, with our guide to essential downloads
Here, we’ve compiled our top 50 downloads – from apps that are measured in kilobytes to the Google Pack’s 200MB – all of which are guaranteed performers. We’ve covered a wide range of applications, including everything from browser add-ons, security software, music packages right through to Photoshop alternatives.

Before you start downloading, a little housekeeping: although we’ve taken great care to personally test each of the software downloads we recommend, we haven’t installed all 50 on the same machine. So while we’re happy to vouch for them individually, we can’t guarantee that any of these downloads will be compatible with each other or with other software on your PC. We’d also implore you to download the software from our recommended sites and scan it for malware before you install it.

1. Google Pack
Size: up to 240MB



Google’s ever-expanding compendium of free software is now so impressive that it outstrips the bundled applications that come with most PCs. The latest addition to the family is StarOffice, the slightly enhanced version of the open-source OpenOffice. With a high-quality word processor, spreadsheet, PowerPoint-like presentation software and database, it’s a genuine alternative to Microsoft’s premium-priced market leader.

Spyware Doctor sifts through your hard disk with commendable diligence, ripping out malware that even our paid-for security software failed to detect. Skype remains the best and most widely used VoIP application on the market, while Firefox is our browser of choice.

All that’s before we’ve mentioned Google’s own-brand software: the elegantly designed Picasa excels at organising and making basic edits to your digital photo collection; Google Desktop keenly sniffs out files and documents that you’d long since given up hope of seeing again; while the Google Toolbar includes a useful pop-up blocker and other enhanced search features for both IE and Firefox.

There are a couple of makeweights in the Pack, but the smartly designed installer makes it easy to pick and choose the applications you want. Google Pack also provides regular reminders when there’s a new version of an application or fresh additions, meaning you don’t have to keep checking back. For a company that focuses on online apps, Google’s not half-bad at desktop software.


2. Paint.NET
Size: 1.6MB


Anyone who’s interested in digital imaging but doesn’t want to shell out for Photoshop (or even Photoshop Elements) could do a lot worse than download this sparkling gem.

Paint.NET started life as a Microsoft project to replace the woefully underpowered Paint application that’s bundled with Windows, and is now being lovingly maintained by former project members. It’s updated regularly with bug fixes and new features, although it already offers almost everything you’d expect to find in paid-for rivals – and then some. Paint.net will prove invaluable for photographers, with control over curves, hue and saturation, as well as both manual and auto-level adjustment. There’s full support for layers, plus a generous selection of artistic effects to add fizz to lifeless photos. Like Photoshop, extra features (such as the ability to import RAW files) can be introduced with a dazzling library of free plug-ins, and there’s also a huge selection of online tutorials to dive into. For us, it just holds the edge over The GIMP (www.gimp.org).


3. CPU-Z
Size: 510KB


It’s no coincidence that this tiny utility ends up installed on all the PCs and notebooks that come into the PC Authority Labs: it takes mere seconds to tell you everything you need to know about the core components. Constantly updated to support the latest CPUs, it gives you real-time clock-speed readouts, along with details of steppings, multipliers and cache; motherboard model and chipset; RAM speed, timings and even the memory slots you’ve filled. In short, it’s a Rough Guide to your own PC.


4. Pidgin
Size: 10.8MB


Pidgin handles your every IM need, allowing you to communicate using one interface across a huge array of networks, from AIM, MSN and Yahoo, to the less common Zephyr, Bonjour and others.

It’s a little rough around the edges, but its open-source roots mean it’s constantly improving. And while many would argue for the inclusion of the more polished Trillian (www.ceruleanstudios.com), Pidgin gives you access to all these networks for free.

5. Startup Control Panel
Size: 59KB

We’re not going to pretend this application does anything particularly glamorous, but for quickly gaining control of your system’s startup programs it’s invaluable. Categorised by the locations that startup programs can hide themselves away, each entry can be disabled, deleted or edited – the latter being particularly handy for changing command-line switches. Once you delete an entry, it stays in a holding area rather than disappearing completely, keeping everything tidy but giving you a backup if something stops working.


6. IE7Pro
Size: 2.2MB

We know that many PC Authority readers wouldn’t touch Internet Explorer with a bargepole, but for those who do IE7Pro is a must-have. A customisable inline spellchecker and inline search are on par with Firefox, of course, but the mouse-gesture support, sophisticated ad-blocking and powerful cut-and-paste features make for a more pleasurable experience. The fact that it runs discreetly is the icing on the cake, and new features (as well as a handy selection of user-written add-ins) appear in each of the regularly updated new versions.


7. Foxit Reader
Size: 2.2MB



Few people look further than Adobe Reader for opening PDFs, but Foxit
is a worthy alternative. The first thing that strikes you is its speed. After years
of viewing PDFs at Adobe’s dawdling pace, the swift response of Foxit is a revelation. Pages packed with high-quality pictures and text open with minimal fuss and scroll without the irritating lurches so common to the industry standard bearer. The install is very quick, and the 2.2MB download snack-sized when compared with Adobe’s 20MB meal. Despite the small footprint, most familiar features are accounted for, although thumbnail views of pages are conspicuous by their absence.


8. Sun NetBeans
Size: 195MB

Sun’s free Java IDE (integrated development environment) is a stunning programming tool. As stable as you could ever expect an IDE to be, it has every feature you’d find in commercial offerings. Download the profiling tool and you have a powerful method of developing the fastest Java apps possible. You can even use it for C and C++ development with the add-on pack – all free. Other open-source projects, notably Eclipse (www.eclipse.org) are an alternative, but nothing can touch NetBeans for its stability and ease of use.


9. WebGuide
Size: 4.5MB



For anyone who’s realised they forgot to record the latest episode of CSI, WebGuide is ideal: this nifty program lets you remotely access a Windows Media Center system to schedule recordings, and manage recorded TV programmes from any internet-connected computer. Now completely free WebGuide offers features such as streaming video, TV, music and photos, and is ideal if you forget to schedule a recording. And there are versions for both XP Media Center Edition, Windows Home Server and Vista, too.


10. Microsoft SyncToy
Size: 1MB

SyncToy is one of Microsoft’s PowerToys, and is an excellent tool for backing up files over a network. The program allows you to create folder pairs – each folder can be anywhere on your network – and then keeps the contents of the two folders synchronised. It even keeps track of when you rename files, so changes are reflected in the other folder. This also applies when you move or delete files.


Copyright © 2009 Dennis Publishing
This article appeared in the June, 2008 issue of PC Authority.
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Comments: 24
Thoughts on this article? Add a comment below.
james
Jul 26, 2008 4:48 PM
 All my favorite free programs and a few new ones all in one story.Only missing AVG anti-virus.


Comment made about the PC Authority article:
Web's Best 50 Free Downloads?
Stack your system full of software without paying a penny, with our guide to essential downloads

What do you think? Join the discussion.
Rhonda
Jul 29, 2008 10:59 AM
 I'd like to point out that Utorrent most certainly deserves a place up there with Azureus and it is user friendly.I taught my 6 year old how to use it :)
Also while AVG may not be the best antivirus around when it comes to free apps I think it's home addition is certainly up there with some of the best and once again user friendly (even grandma has finally figured it out!)
Jim.Dude
Jul 30, 2008 12:42 PM
 Yeah those are awesome, I have a handful already and I've just downloaded a bunch more...althuogh I was dissapointed to not see GPU-Z alongside CPU-Z, but meh.
austhome
Aug 12, 2008 10:19 PM
 Some of these sound really promising and I know that I'm going to be busy downloading them tonight
ubeaut
Aug 15, 2008 7:38 PM
 vlc and syncback were programs I found the most use for.
XPCDBurner should be a must have also.
vjay
Aug 15, 2008 8:18 PM
 One of the Microsoft PowerToys, "Image Resizer" is an invaluable free option for photo/picture resizing for a Windows machine, even a child could use it since it is integrated into the shell and a simple right click and "Resize Pictures" gives you simple to use options for resizing pictures.
It's great for those people who want to resize photos for the web but don't want to do anything but resize and don't know or want to learn how to use a separate program and the best part? It's only a 512kb download.
Dinks-c
Mar 1, 2009 4:29 PM
 I'm still trying to find something to replace Music Match as an all in one music player, ripper, and arranger. don't own an Iplod so have not ventured down the itunes track. Media monkey crashed whenever I originally downloaded it. Win media player doesn't have the tools I require.

any suggestions?
Lost-Benji
Mar 2, 2009 8:23 AM
 VLC
Vista CODEC packs, 32bit and 64bit (Shark007)
CPU-Z
Speedfan
GPU-z
CoreTemp
HDtune
Everest (free version)
Kaspersky (30 day trial of full version)


Thats just a few.

Leave AVG off the list.

Edited by lost-benji: 3/3/2009 07:03:50 AM
teris
Mar 2, 2009 10:49 PM
 That was appreciable and really helpfull in different fields of life
julian
Mar 24, 2009 3:11 AM
 Great list. Gives pause to think. How much hardware on my next notebook? When do I make the switch from Microsoft Apps?

Further thoughts: #1 on this list is Google Pack - But step back for a larger context, you’d easily see why Bill Gates a few years ago pronounced the web as the worst threat to Microsoft. And we’re there. Just picture this combination:
(a) $400 ultra-light notebooks built on on Intel’s Atom processor (HP, and Acer’s forthcoming Aspire) with 4-8 hour battery power.
(b) free web storage space
(c) Application suites like Google Pack to replace your Microsoft Office. Free.

Julian
http://matrixed.org/wordpress/simply-handy/top-50-downloads-guaranteed-performers/
Peter Manser
Jun 4, 2009 3:52 PM
 I don't know what version of Sun VirtualBox was 17.4 MB, but the current version from Sun appears to be a 62.9 MB download. I'll still get it though.
Slatts
Jun 4, 2009 6:21 PM
 That review was done almost a year ago Peter. Plenty of time for software to bloat.:)
I've been messing around with MS Virtual PC 07 running on XP Pro with 1.5Gb of ram.
I loaded win98se on it and it plays nicely. I'll probably load a Linux distro on it this weekend if I have some time...
Hobo_Joe
Jun 4, 2009 8:40 PM
 you'd be right slattsy! Virtual Box has matured alot and quickly too!
lloyd_borrett
Jul 18, 2009 6:54 AM
 Thanks for the very useful list. You should consider adding AVG LinkScanner (www.avgfree.com.au). It's the best protection against web threats available. Plus it runs in conjunction with other security solutions to provide a very necessary extra level of protection.
Lara_Samual
Jul 20, 2009 7:46 PM
 Best software for online Backup is 'Backupandshare.com' You can take automatic incremental Backup also you can schedule your backup as weekly or Daily. They even give Free Backup for windows mobile with 'Backupandshare Windows Mobile Solution' which works for version 5.0 also. Finding a backup for windows mobile version 5 is very difficult. All these features makes BackupandShare a Best online backup provider. No harm in trying this. www.backupandshare.com
_mark
Jul 22, 2009 10:27 PM
 Avira Antivirus, MalwareBytes AntiSpyware
_mark
Jul 22, 2009 10:35 PM
 CCleaner, FLV Player, Winamp, WinPatrol, EjectUSB, RocketDock, Hocus Pocus, last but not least.. 'Really Slick ScreenSavers' Pack!
_mark
Jul 23, 2009 12:47 PM
 forgot 1 more.. http://windirstat.info/ .. http://download.cnet.com/WinDirStat/3000-2248_4-10614593.html
Slatts
Jul 23, 2009 7:44 PM
 Hi Mark. Never a good idea to just post a URL. People tend to suspect the worst and avoid it like the plague. Which makes good sense when you think about it.
More info would be good.

This might explain what I mean.. http://www.pcauthority.com.au/forums

Edited by Slatts: 23/7/2009 07:52:16 PM
_mark
Jul 24, 2009 4:37 PM
 ok got it! you'll have to forgive me, I'm just a caveman. Filthy internet. Should I put on a condom too? :)
Slatts
Jul 25, 2009 1:20 PM
_mark wrote:
ok got it! you'll have to forgive me, I'm just a caveman. Filthy internet. Should I put on a condom too? :)

I'd recommend it.
I have one fitted over the antenna on my wireless router.
CyCoSys
Oct 27, 2009 9:52 PM
 A nice compiled list of tools, even linked it from my blog. Maybe Google wave will make it next year...
Link from my blog
http://www.system-101.com/blog/dib
blockcentre
Oct 27, 2009 10:49 PM
 I use Kompozer a lot as a quick HTML/CSS editor at work when updating the intranet. Doesn't need to be installed and has some nice features for a free editor.

From an educational view, Scratch is quite useful in getting students interested in programming. The same can be said for Pivot in terms of learning how animation works.
gotapok
Oct 28, 2009 7:14 PM
 My top 3 freeware programs are:

Firefox.

FileZilla.

Thunderbird.
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