Useful Software

[Morgan Evanar]

Firefox. http://mozilla.org IE is like riding a giant wild AIDS virus that will give you AIDS while doing awful things. Awful things.

Google Chrome has joined the party and it's pretty cool.

Opera is an excellent alternative to Firefox, and is now free.

The best Anti-Virus package:
NOD32

A very good free AV package
Microsoft Security essentials. The other stuff isn't as good.


An IM Client:
Pidgin http://www.pidgin.im/
Trillian http://trillian.cc
Miranda IM http://www.miranda-im.org/

A good audio player:
http://www.musikcube.com/
http://www.foobar2000.org/

Videolan, in case that stupid video doesn't work
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

To upload images to websites without using the silly web interface:
http://filezilla.sf.net

Crap Cleaner. Because everyone has crap on their computer that needs cleaning. CCleaner removes old temp files and other unnecessary junk, freeing up tons of room. For most people, CCleaner will often find anywhere from 300mb-2GB of useless junk the first time it runs.

IrfanView. A VERY small and quick image viewer/editor/resizer/everything. Awesome program.
http://www.irfanview.com/

Don't have Photoshop? Bashing your head against MS Paint?
Paint.net or The GIMP can help you out.

[Darth McBain]

A few weeks ago a power surge blew out my KVM switch, so I've been poking around for an alternative. I found software called Synergy which allows a single mouse and keyboard to control all computers on a network. It's free at sourceforge.net. It was really easy to install - you just define how the screens "link-up" (i.e. you tell it which computer to go to when you run your mouse off a given edge of your current screen) and you're good to go. It makes working with multiple networked PCs much easier...

[Mitch]

A must-have for any Windows user. And it's free, officially from Microsoft themselves.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sys...lueScreen.mspx

[Hartus Kenobi]

I'm a MAC user, and these are some of my more frequently-used programs that weren't a part of the installation package:

BIT TORRENT:
Transmission : http://transmission.m0k.org/

INSTANT MESSENGING:
Adium: http://www.adiumx.com/

IMAGE VIEWER:
JView: http://home.nc.rr.com/jview/jview.html

FLV Viewer:
flvThing: http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/22760

Watching QT files full-screen:
Fullscreen4free: http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/23093

I also have a PC though, and for that, my favorite program is IrfanView. A VERY small and quick image viewer/editor/resizer/everything. Awesome program.
http://www.irfanview.com/

[Turbogeek]

There should be a "Programs to avoid thread" And then the subsection "If you really MUST have Vista, then here's some tips to make it actually work"

Like turning off Remote Differential compression
Turning off display thumbnails
Install patch to fix the borked network stack
Turning off the utter crap Vista comes with
How to install Ubantu and forget this BS ever existed.

Office 2007 is as good as Vista is crap

[Turbogeek]

Linux geeks should have the following

a) Ubuntu 7.10 - KUbuntu isnt quite recommended until 8.04 and then you get KDE 4 with blows Vista's crap interface away

b) Open Office 2.3

c) Azerus isnt too bad on Linux. Certainly the Java run time seems to actually work properly.

d) Pidgen IM - GAIM with the new name

And handy knowledge of the inbuilt Add / Remove programs and applications. There's so many to browse through and your Windows favorites are almost certainly somewhere in that list.

e) NO Antivirus or anti spyware required.

Now I've really gotten used to Ubuntu, I find Windows depressingly awful.

[Miranda Tarkin]

What's a good spy-ware zapper?

[Crusader]

http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html


If you need a simple, yet very efficient tool to convert (encode) or play any Multimedia file, without reading manuals or spending long hours training, then SUPER © is all you need.
It is a Multimedia Encoder and a Multimedia Player, easy-to-use with 1 simple click.


This is my solution to everything right now. It is capable to convert nearly everything and the quality of its encoding capability is more than satisfying. It can Ripp DVD, Quicktime and Windows Media files down to DivX without any problems. It is free and it does all the incredible Video Voodoo you might have dreamt about.

[Yog]

Screamer Radio.

This lightweight netradio program has access to thousands of radio channels, and automatically updates database when you start it. It can also record what you are listening as single track MP3s with correct song tag and start / stop time depending on the stream.

Screamer Radio achieves Yog's highly coveted and prestigious "recommended software" award.


.. also, if you are in United States:
http://www.pandora.com/

[Daiquiri]

Ive read through the thread and wonder if theres any new FREE anti trojan/worm downloads. Most of the 'free' downloads Ive found always has this string attached: you can download it for free and run it for free but to remove anything harmful, you have to purchase it

[Morgan Evanar]

Get NOD32. Yes, it costs money, but it's the only AV aside from Kaspersky that isn't useless. It also has a 30 day trial.

[Cat X]

Get NOD32. Yes, it costs money, but it's the only AV aside from Kaspersky that isn't useless. It also has a 30 day trial.

I would second this. it is the only one that actually works with the new threats. AVG has turned to crap.

I would otherwise urge anyone concerned to just simply get off Windows and move to alternatives.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Is there a solid program that can remove errors from a computer for cheap or (even better) for free? Advanced Registry Organizer sounds like a solid choice considering they want 30 dollars for the program, but I was wondering if anyone had anything better that they used.

[Milivikal k'Vik]

What sort of errors?

[Jaime Tomahawk]

Is there a solid program that can remove errors from a computer for cheap or (even better) for free? Advanced Registry Organizer sounds like a solid choice considering they want 30 dollars for the program, but I was wondering if anyone had anything better that they used.

Either CrapCleaner or don't bother. Most registry "cleaners" are worth exactly ZERO.

I think your errors are probably something that a program wont fix. As above, exactly what is going on?

[Rossos Atrapes]

I got something similar going on, but I found a useful program in XPtools, though how helpful it might be for you is dependent on whether or not you have XP. You do have to pay for it, but there are ways around almost anything if you look hard enough...

However, I have another problem that I'd like to ask about for those who might know: I've been trying to defragment my computer recently, but it continues to say that it cannot start, whether for analysis or defragmentation. Any tips that can help me out? I'd rather not have to download anything to fix it, but I will if I must.

[Morgan Evanar]

http://www.emro.nl/freeware/
JK defrag with a front end. Much better than the built in defragmenter.

[Rossos Atrapes]

Thank you very much!

[Kanji]

http://www.launchy.net/

This little program is handy for those who like to use windows shortcuts rather than search around through your start menu for something. What it does is allows you to set up a keystroke combination that when activated, brings up a small input window where you can type in the name of the program you want to launch.

Now, here's the best part. You don't even need to fully spell out the word, hitting the keystroke combination and typing in 'ph' brings up Photoshop for me. Or other strokes like, 'm' brings up Mozilla. 'Thu' brings up Thunderbird, etc.

Handy for shortcut lovers.

[Mu Satach]

http://www.fiastarta.com/PrtScr/index.html

Little screen grab utility like Microsoft's Snipping Tool. Only this one works on XP. I quite like it. It's made my life easier for inserting screen shots for manuals and presentations.