There are numerous sites out there, with links and information about various excellent freeware applications. Well, this is no different.
The list I present here, is a list of applications I choose to download as soon as I get my hands on a new PC. I have two categories of applications – a “Must Have” and a “Good to Have”. The must-haves are applications which I have on all my PCs. The Good to have ones are present on most of my PC, but not necessarily on all. You will understand why when you see the list.
In most cases I will provide the Download link to the actual author’s website. However, most applications can be downloaded from the myriad of download sites such as download.com, tucows.com, softpedia.com or brothersoft.com)
Must Have List
1. Mozilla Firefox – Internet Browser
This is by far the first application I always download and install on any PC I have. Without getting into any religious debates between the various browsers out there, and I have tried them all (IE of course, Safari, Chrome, Opera, Lynx), I have decided my browser of choice is the Firefox.
Download From: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/
2. Yahoo Toolbar, Firefox Extension – Browser Plugin
There are various toolbars out there and I am not really a fan of adding toolbars on my browser, but I cannot live without the Yahoo Toolbar. The primary reason for the toolbar is Yahoo Bookmarks, I just cannot live without this anymore. I am sure the other online Bookmark options (such as Google Bookmarks, MyBookmarks, Spurl) are equally, or maybe even better – but I have not really found a reason yet to move off Yahoo Bookmarks. I love the ability to add bookmarks, and open a set of bookmarks as multiple tabs in Firefox. I also use Yahoo mail and Yahoo Address Book extensively, and love the ability to have them on my fingertips whenever I need it.
Download from: http://toolbar.yahoo.com
3. KeePass – Password Manager – Feedback welcome
This is a relatively new application I have started using (since last year). It has become another must-have application just because there are so many passwords you have to remember.
Before this, I used to either cycle through a few tricky passwords, maintain passwords in a text file or rely on the “Forget your username/password” ability of a site. But, I was never comfortable with this strategy, since it limited my ability to have more secure passwords. Also, there are more and more websites now, that expect you, or encourage you to (by providing password strength feedback) have stronger passwords (upper/lower case combinations, numbers, non-alpha numeric characters, longer length).
Now, with KeePass, I can have a more diverse variety in my password, have an extremely strong password for the KeePass db and have a mechanism to share my KeePass DB on all my PCs (see BestSync later on for a discussion on how I do this).
KeePass is extremely easy to use, small size and from all my research so far, the db encryption is safe. Another key feature for me was its multiple import capabilities, allowing me to transfer from my “text” file. I have tried some applications, although none that really stand out in my mind to bear mention here. I have standarized on version 1.1x just to be consistent.
Download from: http://sourceforge.net/projects/keepass/
4. SyncBack – File/FTP Sync software – Feedback welcome
(Unfortunately the best functions of BestSync get turned off in the freeware version after 30 days. So I am replacing this with the alternative, SyncBack. )
Another new (one of the more recent) application that has made into this list. The prime reason for this application is to be able to share, and keep my KeePass DB in sync on my various PCs.
I would register on various websites, sometimes in office or sometimes from one of the 3 PCs I have at home. This allowed me to keep the “master copy” of the KeePass on a remote site (FTP accessible), and auto sync it to every PC. This means, I do not have to worry about if I have the latest copy of KeePass DB or not. Now, I would prefer an application which allows sFTP sync, instead of ftp and I am sure there are applications out there which allow for this, but I also need to move to a hosting provider that supports this. Given the security built in the KeePass DB file, I am confortable with the plain FTP access for now.
I actually did experiment with a few applications (AllwaySync, BestSync), but SyncBack was the best for it relative ease of use, size and ability to synchronize on schedule. I just saw another application, SyncBack – which seems to have similar abilities. Gotta check it out.
Download from: http://www.2brightsparks.com/syncback.
5. DVD Shrink – DVD authoring tool
Most of my PCs now have a DVD writer. We love movies in my house, and I have had enough cases where the DVDs I have bought, got a scratch making them unplayable. Finally, most movies are now on Double Density Discs – but the price difference in open market for the DD DVD discs and the regular 4.7Gb DVD discs is still almost 3:1. For this reason, I like to take a backup of my movies, by compressing the original image such that they fit on the regular DVD. This is where DVD Shrink comes in. This is an awesome software, which is simple, yet powerful to allow all kinds of compression and re-authoring capabilities. I always expect a loss in Quality in the resulting DVD, but I have yet to experience the resulting loss when I actually view the DVDs .. maybe my eyes are not trained enough? For some DVDs, I have to first get an ISO image on hard disk (using DVD Decrypter, see below), and then compress the image.
Download from: http://www.dvdshrink.org/
6. DVD Decrypter – DVD read/write tool
Well, most of my PCs have some DVD read/write tool that came preinstalled (Nero, Roxio). However, for plain on DVD reading (to ISO image) and DVD writing (from ISO image), I love the easy to use, no gimmiks, DVD decrypter. I have started to have some issues with it on Vista (it works, but when you try to exit, it gives a bunch of error pop-ups that you have to click OK). Now, the original DVD decrypter (which has the powerful features of reading/writing any DVD), is no longer being maintained. However, the final version (3.5.4) is still available and works (except for the Vista annoyance as mentioned above). DVD Decrypter plus DVD Shrink should solve most of your DVD authoring requirements.
Download from: http://www.dvddecrypter.org.uk/ (You may have to Google for SetupDVDDecrypter_3.5.4.0.exe )
7. PrimoPDF – PDF printer driver
In my strive to make sure I keep as little paper as possible, I always make sure I have a decent PDF printer installed on all my PCs. This allows to print any page I need to save, as a PDF document instead of a paper copy. A very common example of this my online shopping receipts. While I get the receipts in email – there are occasions when I don’t (Spam blocker prevents them). So, after I purchase something, I always print the receipt from the website as a PDF document. This even helps for communicating with the online shop, in case of questions. PrimoPDF is just a preference. There are many similar apps out there, all equally good (PDF995.com is a very common alternative).
Download from: http://www.primopdf.com
Good to Have List
1. Notepad++ – Text Editor
Everybody needs a notepad, and the notepad with Windows – well it sucks. Notepad++ is one of the two applications that I am amazed are freeware. It is installed on all my PCs, but it is in the Good to have list, since I do not “need” it (given Notepad is present).
Download from: http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/
2. Paint.NET – Graphical Editor
An alternative to Paint. Actually, this is really powerful, with layers and loads of other features making it a pretty nice alternative to the deFacto standard for graphic editing – Adobe PhotoShop.
Download from: http://www.getpaint.net (this site was blocked in my office. Use any of the download sites mentioned above in this blog.)
3. JDiskReport – Disk Space Analysis
How many times do you need to know which folders are taking the most space on your hard disk. JDiskReport is a simple, yet powerful tool that allows you to scan through and report on the disk usage. You can see the top file/folder hogs, and use this information to do some disk cleanup.
Download from: http://www.jgoodies.com/freeware/jdiskreport/
4. Putty – ssh Terminal Client
Well, this may be for the techies only. putty is by far the best terminal client, for ssh, telnet or serial port access. And, its best feature is it is a single exe (putty.exe) – no installers, no mess.
Download from: http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/
5. WinSCP – sFTP/SCP/FTP client
This may be another one for the techies, although it could be useful for anybody who wants a decent FTP client. Use this to transfer files to and from any FTP (plain vanilla FTP or Secure sFTP location).
Download from: http://winscp.net
6. YahooMessenger – Yahoo IM
Well, I am a Yahoo guy, and among all the chat clients out there, I have stuck with Yahoo IM. Now, if I decide that I need to chat over Yahoo, Google, MSN messenger, I may get one of the multipurpose clients (like Pidgin, Trillian). But, for now Yahoo IM works for me.
Download from: http://messenger.yahoo.com/
7. Picasa – Photo Organizer/touch up
I have played with various photo organizer/touch up tools (like Adobe Photoshop Album), but I have always come back to Picasa. Why do I waver from Picasa? Sometimes it is a little sluggish, and I wish there was a better capabilty to manage the photos via Picasa on my website (and not only on Picasa Web Albums). But still, the ability to load pictures from my camera, view them, touch up for light, red eye etc, speed, it is very good from Picasa. However, I think I am not convinced it is the best yet.
Download from: http://picasa.google.com
8. Audacity – Audio capture (to wav/mp3)
Have you ever the need to convert your old cassettes into CDs or mp3 files. Do you even have cassettes? Do you have a sound capture, which you want to edit (remove noise, break into multiple audio tracks, and more). Audacity is simply the best tool I have found to perform all these tasks and more. Once again, when using this tool, I am amazed at the tools out there in the open source landscape. You will need the LameMP3 encoder save as mp3.
Download from: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Download LameMP3 from: http://lame.buanzo.com.ar/
9. CitiCard Virtual Account Number tool – Virtual Card Number for CitiBank mastercards
I never (repeat never) give my real credit card information for any online transaction. How do I avoid it, the extremely useful feature from CitiBank – Virtual Cards. Once you have registered your card online, you can get a virtual card number using this tool. This card can only be charged “once”, and you can even specifically limit the amount of that charge. Now, most cards have the feature where you can get them to reverse a questionable charge, but why go through the hassle. I use this ALL the time. You can either download an small app to reside on your PC, or you can launch it as an applet from their website. There are just two caveats – (1) Some buy-online-pickup-in-store options expect you to present them with the same card used for purchase, at the time of pickup. Now with a Virtual Card, this is not possible. I simply avoid these stores (unless they have free shipping).
Website: http://www.citicards.com
10. FastStone Capture – Printscreen capture
I find my self performing screen capture a lot, especially at work when writing tech docs or communicating with others regarding a problem or software. While the operation of selecting Print Screen button, pasting it in Paint (or Paint.NET, MSWord) works most of the time, sometimes you want to capture just a part of a window, or you want to annotate the captured image. I find this program extremely useful for this. Many other programs I tried, would capture and then load it in Paint (or your graphics editor choice). But I like the all-in-one approach of FastStone. The graphics editor is not powerful – but enough for most tasks I need for Screen capture.
Download from: http://www.faststone.org/FSCaptureDetail.htm
11. Java JDK – Java development/runtime platform
Well, you would think that most PCs would come preinstalled with the Java runtime. But, unfortunately, I have found otherwise. And then, the first app that needs this, will install it – but it may install a previous version (and then you have to go through the upgrades …. ), or install in a non-standard directory (so that the next application that needs it, will again install it) and more. So, just to be on the safe side, I always download and install it myself. Now, I install the JDK (Java Development Kit) – which includes the run time engine (JRE) needed by most application, but also installs the capability to develop new Java applications – something I do from time to time. But, you can just choose to install the JRE.
Download (JDK or JRE) from: http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp
12. CPU_Z – CPU info
This is a very small, but nice utility which tells you a lot of information about your computer. Now, you can always right-click on My Computer, and select Properties to get good information about your computer, it is not enough. Like, you may find out how much memory you have in your PC, but CPU_Z will also tell you if there is an empty slot to add more memory, or are all the slots taken. You will get information about the graphics cards, BIOS version etc. All in all, some good information. Maybe for the techies, but benign enough that even non-techies can use it and get some information. Again, it is extremely small and has no installer.
Download from: http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php (this site was blocked in my office. Use any of the download sites mentioned above in this blog.)
13. MagicDisk – Mount ISO images as a virtual CD/DVD drive.
As I mentioned before regarding DVD movies, I have found that it is not infrequent to have a CD for a software, which has a scratch and hence is no longer useful anymore. Now, I could very easily create backup CDs/DVDs (and I do), but I also like the ability to not have to use the CD at all (especially for some games, which require you to put the CD to play the game). In this case, I save the CD/DVD on the hard drive (as an ISO image) using any CD/DVD authoring program (like Nero, Roxio etc.), and then I use MagicDisk to “mount this image” as a Virtual CD. In fact, I have 5 games for my son on one PC, which are all available for him at any time without needing to insert a CD, since they load off Virtual CDs. The one key item to remember when using Virtual CDs, is to make sure you “Install the program” the first time off the Virtual CD drive itself, since the programs (when you start it later) will look for the CD in the same drive you installed it from. Prior to this, I used to use Virtual CD from Microsoft, but I have since (recently) found this and so far, it looks extremely promising.
Download from: http://www.magiciso.com/tutorials/miso-magicdisc-overview.htm
14. Safarp (Small And Fast Add/Remove Programs) – Add/Remove program alternative
I try to keep my PCs as clean as possible. Now, while uninstalling a program is something some “experts” say you should avoid (leave it there, even if you do not use it), the reason being some uninstalls are notorious to remove files, which may be used by other programs. Some people know this phenomenon as “DLL Hell”. I am sure I am going to be bit by this, but at this time my urge to keep the PCs clean is such that I cannot simply leave a program to stay around, once I have determined I will never use it. This is especially true for programs which run as background services (those little icons on the bottom right of your screen).
For some strange reason, the Add/Remove programs, from the Control Panel in Windows, is extremely slow to start up. I just cannot understand why? In any case, Safarp is an alternative which comes up instantly – and does the same operation as the Windows Add/Remove program.
Since I found Safarp, I have seen other programs which take this operation one step ahead by also checking if there were other files or registry entries which “should have been removed” by the uninstaller, but did not. I will not get into the details of how they do that, but I will probably replace Safarp with that program (do not recall the name at this time, I have it on one of my laptops).
Download from: http://wistinga.online.fr/safarp/
14.1 Revo Uninstaller
Just like Safarp, although this program is “better” since it scans through the registry and removes any other associated entries (such as removal of any entries to start the program as a “service” etc.). Normally, the application uninstaller should remove all its traces — but experience has always shown otherwise.
Download from: http://www.revouninstaller.com/
15. FoxIt PDF reader – Acrobat PDF Reader alternative
(As I mentioned in my original post, if I find an alternative, I will move to it instead. Well I have – PDFXchange Viewer. Hence this is being relegated down to “Relegated Applications List” below)
15. PDFXChange Viewer – Acrobat PDF Reader alternative, with some editing capabilities
While I do not really have any real problems with Acrobat Adobe Reader, I have an urge to check out alternatives out there. Initially I found FoxIT PDF, but it has an annoying requirement to install a toolbar to allow some of its features.
Download from:http://www.docu-track.com/PDFX_Vwr_Port.zip
16. 7Zip – Zip/UnZip/Rar/UnRar and more
7zip is powerful replacement for WinZip (remember WinZip is NOT freeware). 7zip not only works with zip, but also with many other types. Now, if you only work with zip files, this may not be needed as zip archives are handled natively by Windows. But, it is still a tool worth to download and install.
Download from: http://www.7-zip.org/
17. Handy Image Mapper – Create ImageMaps for web design
As an occasional web designer, I have found a need to create clickable image maps. A handy utility I found towards that end, is the Handy Image Mapper. It is pretty simple and straightforward in its functionality. You load the image, you select the hotspot regions and associate the URLs for the same. When you are done, you “copy” the imagemap definition onto the clipboard and paste it in your webpage. What was cool, was that you could work with an image off your harddisk AND an image URL off the web.
Download From: http://www.silveragesoftware.com/ftp/HndImgMapSetup.exe
18. SerifDrawPlus4 – Vector drawing program for flowcharts and more
I have been on a perenial quest to find a good and free alternative to Visio for making the frequent block diagrams, flowcharts and more that I need as part of my work arsenal. I have been toying with general paint programs, and have even used the multi-layer capability of Paint.NET for this purpose. But, then I realized what I needed was a Vector drawing program (not a bitmap paint program). A quick search and research and out came SerifDrawPlus4. An excellent program which performs all the tasks I needed, plus a lot more. This excellent (did I say excellent) program allows you to create adhoc block diagrams, but more importantly it allows you to edit the components of the diagram individually once you have saved them. In my mind, it is a freehand Visio alternative, and hence in some ways more powerful than Visio. Of course, if you need dimensional architectural drawings, then this is not the tool (although amazingly, it does have the capabilities). Definitely a tool to have.
Download From: http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/software/DrawPlus/default.asp
(SerifDrawPlus6 is the upgrade version and for $9.99, it is definitely worth an upgrade. But I will wait till I find a deficiency in DrawPlus4 to see if I need it – in the spirit of keeping my toolkit freeware.)
19. JAlbum – Web Photo Albums
I have experimented with the ability to create web albums on my personal website. I have written my own program to do so, I have tried to use Picasa and Picasa.google.com and more. But, by far – JAlbum is the best application to allow you to create a custom album to your taste. It has inbuilt ftp client, so you can build the album on your PC, and then “publish” it to your website. You can change the look and feel (skin) of your album, if you want the high quality pics to be downloadable and a lot more. I would definitely recommend this, if you want to create your web albums – and trust me, I have experimented a lot with this requirement.
I realized it is about time this moved up from my “Nice Apps” list to the “Good to have” list.
Download from: http://www.jalbum.net/
Other Nice Apps
I have these applications on many (but maybe not all) of my PCs. Many of these belong to the good to have category, but I just don’t use them frequent enough. But, if I need the functionality they provide, I will use the apps from this list.
1. JAlbum – Web Photo Albums (moved to the ‘Good to Have list’)
2. KMPlayer – Media Player alternative
This is just one of the various media players I have played with. The main reason for looking, is because Windows Media player, QuickTime player, Real Media player are all getting bloated. The need for these players to embed a browser, to show up ads and rss feeds and try to be an “alternative to your browser” (which they can never be), really frustrates me. Also, the fact that they can all read “most” but not “all” audio types.
I am not sure I have really found a true alternative yet (WinAMP seems to be going down the same route as the other three mentioned before), but KMPlayer (and GOMPlayer) are the current winners. They both are not “perfect”, but good enough. I usually have both installed, and use KMPlayer as my first choice (and associated with default audio file types), and use GOMPlayer when I have any issues.
The main problem I face is with web pages that have “embedded” players and expect Media Player, QuickTime or RealPlayer installed to run, and do not work with KMPlayer or GOMPlayer. I guess this is why I am still waiting for the “perfect” player. Could be a long wait, or it could be that the “flash” players (now becoming more popular as embedded players), will eliminate this hassle once and for all (except if you go to MS or Apple or Real.com).
Download from: http://kmplayer.en.softonic.com/
3. GOM Player – Media Player alternative
This is the other media player, that is currently on my list. See more in KMplayer above. Hmm, just checked their website, maybe the latest GOMPlayer will put it ahead of KMPlayer. May have to check it out.
Download from: http://www.gomlab.com/
4. WinMerge – Show and merge text file differences
This is a development tool I use. There is always a need to compare two copies of a text file, to see what is different in one and/or merge one with the other. WinMerge is a great tool that allows you to do exactly that. Also, it allows you to compare two folders which may have the same files, but not all the files being identical.
Download from: http://www.winmerge.org/
5. OpenOffice – MS Office free alternative
I do not have this installed on many of my PCs, since I usually have MS Office suite on them. But, I have some Virtual Servers and I install open office on these servers instead of installing an illegal copy of MS Office. Even then, I use docs.google.com whenever I can, instead of OpenOffice – but I do have it installed just to be able to open and read .doc documents.
Download from: http://www.openoffice.org/
6. VNCViewer – VNC client application
Another techie tool. You need a VNCServer (a remote desktop application) on the machine you want to connect to. If you do not know what this is, read up on VNC in wikipedia first.
Download from: http://www.tightvnc.com/
7. Google Earth – Virtual Globe
Well, this is an awesome application from Google, which is yet to be surpassed (MS Virtual Earth needs a lot of work before it can come close). I love this app., and so does my son.
Download from: http://earth.google.com/
8. BurnAware DVD Burner – DVD read/write tool
It is a pretty decent alternative to the CD/DVD writers like Nero/Roxio. I believe it can be a good alternative to DVD Decrypter, I have to play with it a bit more.
Download from: http://www.burnaware.com/burnaware_free.html
9. NetBeans – C/C++/Java IDE
A powerful software development tool from Sun. The earlier versions were not so great, but it is pretty good since version 6.x.
Download from: http://www.netbeans.org/
10. JEdit – Editor with edit over sftp support
I had a requirement to edit files on a remote server, accessible over sftp. One alternative we had was to download the file locally, edit it and then upload it. We could also use an application like WinSCP, double click on the remote file to launch it in a default editor – but the edits and save were written to the “copy in the temp folder” and not on the remote server. JEdit was perfect for that requirement. It is a decent editor for lot of other development requirements, but IMHO it is the perfect editor for editing files on a remote (over ftp or sftp) server. You open the file, edit and save it, and the save is written to the remote server totally transparent to how it accomplishes this. I even had it as my “notepad” alternative prior to NotePad++. The main gripes are that it takes time to load (they have tried to improve this with a JEdit service in the latest version), and its inability to launch using association in some cases. In spite of these gripes, I have and will always this on most of my development systems.
Download from: http://www.jedit.org/
11. CamStudio – Create flash movies
Have you seen those many “video tutorials” for certain applications, where a video shows you how to use a particular application. If you think they do that by having a camera in front of the screen capturing the movements, you are mistaken. They do that using a streaming screen capture program, and CamStudio is a fantastic open source option to do exactly the same. Now, you may never need this – but if you want to explain your grandma how to get started with a program, this will work really very good. Remember the adage, Pictures are worth a thousand words.
Download from: http://www.camstudio.org/
12. WinRoll – Roll up windows
This is just a fun app which allows a window to be “rolled” into the title bar, when you click with the right mouse. An alternative to “minimizing” the window. Download it, you may like to use it – I do.
Download from: http://www.palma.com.au/winroll/
13. VMWare server – Create/Use Virtual Machines
I have started experimenting with Virtual Servers. I love the ability to have various Linux servers, a Windows 95 desktop, Solaris all available as Virtual Machines, to play around with. Why, well did I ask why you need (or dream ) to have that $50,000 car or boat or some other toy? I use VMWare, but I need to look into the open source alternative like Xen or VirtualBox.
Download from: http://www.vmware.com/download/server/open_source.html
14. The Clock – Clock for your desktop
I want to know the time anytime 
Since I am in front of one of my PCs for a large period during my workday (and some part on the weekend), and since I have stopped wearing a watch long time back, I have been looking for a good desktop clock. Something that would give me the time (analog and digital) and the day/date, and would be “semi-transparent” so as to be visible all the time, but yet not interfere with the other windows. I found many (SeeThruClock, bigtime), but I have settled on the application that calls itself simply “The Clock”. It has all the features I mentioned above, plus a very nice feature to associate a sound file with an hourly clock chime. I have a grandfather clock chime for every hour, and Big Ben chime three times in the day (morning after I get in, lunch hour and finally when its time to get out of office). I love this feature.
Download from: http://www.geocities.com/thexagon/TheClock.html
15. SmartSniff – Network sniffer
SmartSniff is a tool to capture and view TCP and UDP packets on your network. A packet sniffer as such, is used by hackers to see unencrypted information. But, it is also a very powerful tool used by network admins and software development engineers, to determine network packet routing or data corruption issues. This definitely falls in the “techie” category of tools.
Download from: http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/smsniff.html (It is very likely this site would be blocked on your site. Use any of the download sites mentioned earlier in this blog).
16. TortoiseCVS – CVS client
This is a source code management front end client for CVS. If you do not know what CVS is, do not bother downloading this, as it would not be for you. It is primarily meant for software developers. TortoiseCVS integrates its functionality within Windows Explorer, so all its options are available in the right click menu.
Download from: http://www.tortoisecvs.org/
17. TortoiseSVN – SVN client
This is another source code management front end client, this time for SVN (which is claimed to be a better alternative to CVS) . If you do not know what CVS or SVN is, do not bother downloading this, as it would not be for you. It is primarily meant for software developers. TortoiseSVN (like TortoiseCVS) integrates its functionality within Windows Explorer, so all its options are available in the right click menu.
Download from: http://tortoisesvn.tigris.org/
18. LinCVS – CVS client
This is another source code management front end client for CVS. If you do not know what CVS is, do not bother downloading this, as it would not be for you. It is primarily meant for software developers. It allows the CVS checkouts to be managed as a “project”. It is an alternative to WinCVS, which has never worked to its potential (at least for me).
Download from: http://sourceforge.net/projects/lincvs/
19. Eclipse – C/Java IDE
Another powerful software development tool. It is actually powerful than Netbeans (above), but it takes some getting used to (as against Netbeans, which is more “user friendly).
Download from: http://www.eclipse.org/
20. Altiris Virtualization Software - Install applications in a sandbox
I have decided that it is about time this moves out from being a special application, to being an application that should be part of my toolSet, even though it may have a “specialty” use.
How many times do you have the requirement to install an application, but you are just not sure if the application will perform the task you are planning to install it for, or may not do it good enough. Then you will have to uninstall it … and many applications are notorious to not uninstalling properly causing clutter to be left around, or other applications to misbehave. Well, here is where AVS comes in picture. It allows you to start a “virtualization session” in which you install the application and use it. If you deem the application is not good enough, just end the virtualization session and delete it. All traces of the application would be gone. Another use I found for it was to install multiple versions of an application in various virutal sessions. Only one session can be active at a time, but have them prepackaged in virtual sessions, I just activate the session (with the version I want), use the application and deactivate it (not delete it).
This is definitely an application you need to use, to realize the potential of it.
Download from: http://www.symantec.com/community/svs
21. LogMeIn (Free GoToMyPC alternative) – Remote Desktop Control
If there is only one computer on your network, then simply use the directions here to enable the inbuilt windows Remote Desktop utility to allow any Remote Desktop client to allow access to your computer. However, if there is more than one computer you want to access and you do not want to be bothered with the hassles of making changes in your router (port forwarding ….), then you can download the free version of LogMeIn.
The way it works, in very short, is to create an account on the LogMeIn website. When you login, you can navigate to the “My Computers” page on the top-right, and select the option to “Add this computer”. Follow the directions to install the LogMeIn application. After installation is complete, you will have to select the option to “Turn On LogMeIn”. This can be done at any time by clicking on the LogMeIn icon in the taskbar at the right bottom of your screen. When done, you can provide the login details to your friend, who wants to gain remote access. When he is logged in and selects the “My Computers” option on the right, he will see your computer in the list. Click on Remote Connect, provide any windows login credentials (if applicable) and you should be all set.
Now, for obvious security reasons, I would recommend that you exit LogMeIn when not in use.
Goto: https://secure.logmein.com/US/home.aspx
Special applications
These are apps that I have needed at one point or another, and I have done the research at the time and found the one most appropriate. However, I do not need them, or use them frequently enough to warrant installing them on all PCs or to know if they are still the best option out there.
1. NullSoft – Create application installers
Download from: http://nsis.sourceforge.net/Main_Page
2. HtmlTrim – Tidy HTML files
Download from: http://dev.int64.org/htmltrim.html
3. tsWebEditor – Web Editor (with Html Tidy)
Download from: http://tswebeditor.net.tc/
4. XVi32 – Hex editor
Download from: http://www.chmaas.handshake.de/delphi/freeware/xvi32/xvi32.htm
5. WinTabber – Group Windows into tabs
Download from: http://www.wintabber.com/
6. Selida 2 – WysiWyg Html Editor
Download from: http://selida.camelon.nl
7. XAMPP – Apache, MySQL, PHP bundle
Download from: http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html
8. Altiris Software Virtualization – Install applications in a sandbox
(moved up to Nice to Have list)
Download from: http://www.symantec.com/community/svs
9. VLC Media Player – a decent player and convertor for mp4 files
Download from: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
10. AppSnap – Application to detect newer versions of applications on your PC.
Download from: http://appsnap.genotrance.com/
10.1 SUMo – Software Update Manager, another alternative to AppSnap.
Download From: http://download.cnet.com/SUMo/3000-2084_4-10758580.html
11. AutoRuns – An excellent application to see apps that autostart and other information.
Download from: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/default.aspx
12. PDFSplitter – GIOS PDF Splitter to split large PDF files into smaller files, or vice versa.
Download From: http://www.softpedia.com/get/Office-tools/PDF/Gios-PDF-Splitter-And-Merger.shtml
13. Toad for MySQL – DB Admin client, I’m surprised it is free.
Download From: http://www.toadsoft.com/toadmysql/
Relegated Applications
15. FoxIt PDF reader – Acrobat PDF Reader alternative
While I do not really have any real problems with Acrobat Adobe Reader, I have an urge to check out alternatives out there. FoxIT PDF reader was a result of such an urge, and since I found it, I use it on almost all my PCs (except my laptop that has the Adobe Acrobat Pro).
I do have one complain with FoxIT. As part of its install, they expect you to allow them to install a FoxIT toolbar, failing which you lose the “typewriter” (annotations) capability. I decided I will do this only on one of my PC. I NEVER use the toolbar, but I am sure it is out there collecting stats (or other info).
If I find an alternative to FoxIT, I will move to it … or maybe I will stick with plain Adobe Reader (except I really do not like the bloated Reader).
Download from: http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php