Best Free Stuff on the Internet

By Benjamin | May 24, 2007

Many people ask me where they can find good software, for a great price. My response has always been, “Why pay for software, when you can get it for free?.

Ok, I realize that many of you don’t want to go to jail for pirating software. So, I’ve put together a little list of great software that everyone can download for the amazing price of $$$FREE$$$.

The lead-off batter in this software lineup is one that I get asked about all the time. “Do I really have to pay for anti-virus… I only use the internet to download cool themes and backgrounds for my computer?” Run for the hills, its virus central waiting to happen. Have no fear, AVG Anti-Virus Free is here. The folks over at Grisoft make a great free version of their anti-virus program. So now you can rest easing knowing that AVG will be protecting your computer against viruses and hackers, this app works with both Windows Vista and earlier versions.

Another issue that many computer owners have is they install and uninstall lots of software. Over time this can cause some problems with the computer’s registry. Don’t worry, the team at Smart PC Solutions have released a free Registry cleaner that will make your life so much easier. Regular use of a computer makes the registry fragmented and cluttered with obsolete and invalid data. But no longer with this great tool.

I’m also asked about what I use for email. I always recommend the best email program…GMAIL. But… since this is a list about free software you can download, its hard to do better than Thunderbird. Download this great email client and begin to reclaim your inbox.

In terms of Instant Messangers… I like to use an online tool that keeps my desktop uncluttered. I’m talking about Meebo. But if you’re looking for good downloadable messaging clients. There are tons: Skype, Gizmo, Yahoo Messanger, Google Talk, GAIM: connects to multiple types of IM, Trillian: connects to multiple types of IM. The real answer for instant messaging clients is, first figure out what clients your friends use, and then use that one.

I listen to music using iTunes. I edit photos using Google Picassa, trust me, it is a great piece of software. I edit some of my music files using Audacity. I burn CDs using the free CD Burner XP program. And I upload files to the internet using FileZilla.

In another post, I’ll spend some time talking about RSS readers and setting up a blog.

Are there other great free software products that I missed. Let me know by leaving a comment below.