Favorite Freeware

Many free programs in a variety of categories are available on the Internet. They range from the very useful to the dangerous. Some references for finding good ones are given here.

The Web is full of sites with lists of freeware so the need for yet another may seem dubious. Because of all the problems with adware and spyware, however, many home PC users that I know are reluctant to download anything at all so I have decided to list some of the sites that I have found to be useful (and safe). This is a purely personal selection with no pretense at completeness. I also mention some software that has made computing easier and more efficient for me. No doubt I have omitted many good sites and programs but life is short.

Please keep in mind that links are subject to change at any time and that freeware sometimes goes commercial after a while.

Lists and General Download Sites

http://www.mdgx.com/free.htm
A list of freeware sites. This page is part of a very large assortment of tips and tricks.

http://www.nonags.com/nonags/
Has many programs for downloading. Gives ratings. Excellent site. Some features require paid membership

http://www.tudogs.com
Large collection for downloading. Gives ratings. Requires (free) login.

http://www.freewarearena.com/html2/
A large collection of freeware

http://www.shellcity.net/
A bonanza for those who like to tinker with their system

http://www.321download.com/LastFreeware/
Last free versions of some good freeware now turned commercial, including JV16 Powertools and its cousin RegCleaner.

http://www.pricelessware.org/
Best freeware as voted by newsgroup alt.comp.freeware

http://www.techsupportalert.com/best_46_free_utilities.htm
Ian "Gizmo" Richards' personal choices for best freeware. Part of a larger site with much good information on computers.

http://www.aumha.org/freeware.htm
James Eshelman's favorite freeware. Part of a larger site with much good information on Windows.


Some Newsletters

Keeping up with the good freeware that is available can be difficult. In the past, I found certain newsgroups to be helpful but these are now so filled with spam and useless verbiage that I no longer look at them. Your local PC user group newsletter can help. Also publications like PC Magazine and PC World have newsletters. These mostly mention commercial software but do have some information on freeware.You do not have to be a subscriber to be able to receive their email newsletters. Go to their Web sites for information. Some download sites also have email newsletters but they often entail a paid membership. There are, however, several free newsletters that I like and these are listed below.

http://langa.com/index.html
The LangaList from Fred Langa is very useful general email newsletter on computing that often has recommendations from readers on good freeware that they have found and used.

http://www.techsupportalert.com/index.html
"Gizmo" Richards' newsletter with picks of the best tech utilities and tech support resources

http://www.tudogs.com
Newsletter from a good download site listing some of their latest finds and additions

http://www.karenware.com/
Newsletter from Karen Kenworthy describing the latest free program that she has written


Download Sites for Specific Programs

The biggest freeware download sites may have the program that you are looking for but navigating them can be tedious. Google or other search engines are often a better place to find links for specific programs than the search facilities at download sites. Here I list specific download links for some of my favorite freeware. I apologize if one of them stops working but links come and links go.

http://www.irfanview.com/
The graphics program IrfanView is one of my all-time favorites. It has an astonishing number of features for a free program and is updated frequently. I give more detail here

http://www.winpatrol.com/
WinPatrol is another free program with many features. It can help you control what is installed, what runs in the background, and what runs at startup. More discussion is here.

http://www.mypeecee.org/rogsoft/
There are many text editors that are better than Windows Notepad but I have been using Notepad+ for years as my replacement for the Windows utility.

http://personal.inet.fi/business/toniarts/ecleane.htm
Of all the Registry cleaners that I have tried, EasyCleaner is one of the best.

http://www.hoverdesk.net/freeware.htm
RegSeeker is another good Registry tool. A beta product but seems to work OK.

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html
To find out all the details of what is on your system, use Belarc Advisor

http://www.internet-soft.com/download.htm
There are many freeware FTP clients but I like the free version of FTP Commander

http://www.karenware.com/powertools.html
A collection of many small useful utilities written by Karen Kenworthy. Excellent site. I use Replicator all the time to back up files. I also use her Cookie Viewer a lot.

http://www.sysinternals.com/
Another collection of useful small utilities. Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell write everything here. Their programs concentrate on system maintenance and monitoring. Process Viewer is one of a number of their handy utilities. Added later: Sysinternals has been bought by Microsoft but so far the freeware remains available.

http://www.nirsoft.net/
A collection of free useful networking and Internet utilities. Also has a number of handy system utilities.

Source Article: http://vlaurie.com

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Top Five Anti Spyware Tools

Top five Anti Spyware Tools as picked by EasyTechReviews. These include spyware removal tools as well as spyware prevention. EasyTechReviews recommends having at least one of these Anti-Spyware Tools.

1. Ad-Aware

Considered the leader of all Anti-Spyware tools. Ad-Aware has been around for many years and does in excellent job at finding and removing Spyware.


2. SpyBot Search & Destroy

SpyBot is another program that has been around for many years. Like Ad-Aware, it has built a great reputation over the years for finding and removing Spyware.


3. SpywareBlaster

SpywareBlaster is designed to prevent Spyware from getting onto your system in the first place. SpywareBlaster has a database of thousands of Spyware that it protects you from.


4. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

One of the newer Spyware Removers, however don't let that fool you. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware does an excellent job at removing Spyware from your system.


5. SpywareGuard

SpywareGuard has been around for a few years. It was designed to prevent Spyware from getting onto your system. However the one downside is that you have to keep SpywareGuard running if you want it to protect your system.


All of these have free versions and all of these are tools EasyTechReviews recommend in fighting Spyware. Good luck!

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10 Free Programs You Should Download to Protect Yourself From Spyware, Computer Viruses and Keep Your Computer Safe

For this article, I decided to create a list of 10 free programs you can download to keep your computer secure. This list of programs will help you protect your computer from Viruses, Spyware, and hackers. All of the programs listed here are highly recommended, and like I said, all have a free version available.

I should note though that many websites that carry articles do not allow more then a couple links in the main body of the article. Because of this, I am unable to include download links for each program. However, if you do a search for them on Google, you can find where to download them. Alternatively, you can visit my website where I have uploaded this article and included links inside the article to download each program. The web address is listed in my author info.

Anyway, let's get to the list of 10 programs you should download to protect yourself from Spyware and Computer Viruses and keep your computer safe.

Ad-Aware

Ad-Aware is one of the oldest Anti-Spyware programs available and also one of the best. Ad-Aware has been around for over ten years now. Over the ten years, Ad-Aware has been a top notch program and it doesn't look to be changing anytime soon. If you do not have Ad-Aware protecting your system, then I highly recommend you download it right now.

AVG Anti-virus

With McAfee and Norton on the market, many people are under the impression that you will have to pay money for virus protection. This is wrong! There are free anti-virus solutions available and AVG is one of the best. AVG has all of the usual features and it's highly recommended that you download AVG Anti-Virus if you don't already have a virus scanner.

Hijack This!

Hijack This! can be a great program for helping you get rid of some tricky Spyware. Beware though, you really need to know what you are doing when you are using Hijack This!. Hijack This! isn't for beginners. However, it's worth downloading and keeping around so if you ever do have a tricky spyware problem, an expert online can help you use Hijack This! to get rid of it. Because honestly, most experts online are going to ask you to download Hijack This!.

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is newer then some of the other anti-Spyware products, but don't let that discourage you. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is a great tool for protecting yourself against spyware. Like Ad-Aware, it can do a complete scan of your computer and most spyware problems you are having you can say goodbye to thanks to this program.

Spybot Search & Destroy

Spybot Search & Destroy reminds me of Ad-Aware, it has been around a long time and has stood the test of time. Spybot Search & Destroy may not be as pretty as some of the other anti-spyware programs, but that's okay because Spybot Search & Destroy means business. Spybot Search & Destroy should have all of the tools you need to protect you from Spyware even if you don't download any other program listed here.

SpywareBlaster

What can I say about SpywareBlaster? SpywareBlaster is a really cool program. SpywareBlaster isn't a scanner, instead, it's purpose is to prevent Spyware from getting onto your system in the first place. SpywareBlaster has a database of thousands of harmful Active X Plug-ins that it blocks. Just download SpywareBlaster, install it, click to enable the protection, and that's it. SpywareBlaster doesn't even need to be running all the time. A very useful program that should be included in your list of programs you use to protect your computer.

SpywareGuard

SpywareGuard is simlar to SpywareBlaster, it tries to prevent Spyware from getting onto your system. However, SpywareGuard works in a different way. SpywareGuard works by monitoring your computer for typical Spyware-like behavior. If SpywareGuard spots anything, it will alert you. The downside to this is that you need to keep SpywareGuard open for it to work. On the plus side though, it means SpywareGuard doesn't need to be constantly updated, since it doesn't rely on definition files.

Startup Inspector

Startup Inspector is a program used for monitoring and disabling items that run when you turn on the computer. So how does that relate to this list? Well Startup Inspector can really be handy in fighting Spyware because a lot of Spyware programs will be set to run when you turn on the computer. Before you turn off the computer each night, take a quick look at Startup Inspector and see what is set to run when you turn on the computer next time. See anything suspicious? If so, go ahead and run a scan with another program listed here. But remember, you first noticed something suspicious thanks to Startup Inspector. This is why I included it in this list. :)

Update Windows

Okay, guess what? I lied. This isn't even a software program. Regardless though, this has to be included in this list. One of the biggest ways your computer can be attacked is through security holes that were left open from not updating your operating system. Do your computer a favor and go online to WindowsUpdate and update your computer right away.

ZoneAlarm

Finally, we come to ZoneAlarm. ZoneAlarm is a firewall and will monitor all ingoing and outgoing connections on your computer. This is very useful for keeping your computer safe, because Zonealarm will block unauthorized connections to your computer. Basically, ZoneAlarm stops hackers. Great software!

In all honesty, if you don't want to try all of these programs, even just download one or two. Having one or two of these can still make a big difference with your computer. It can be scary with so much Spyware and Viruses on the internet. But now, you have the information you need to stay protected. Good luck

Source:
You can find links to the programs listed in this article on his website at: EasyTechReviews.com - Registry Cleaner Reviews, Software Reviews, Articles, Tips, And More!

READ MORE - 10 Free Programs You Should Download to Protect Yourself From Spyware, Computer Viruses and Keep Your Computer Safe