I’ve compiled a list of my favorite software that I actually use. Some of them, I don’t use anymore, but they’re still worth mentioning. Most of these are also free, and can be found for download at FileHippo.com, my favorite download site. You won’t find everything listed here on FileHippo.
Well, here’s the updated list with simple descriptions :P
Most of these are low on resource and are available for free download from . The ones that are not available from FileHippo have links beside them. Also, some are not free (but most are).
Browser
- Firefox - Main browser I use; snappy and safe surfing and endless list of plugins are what keeps me using it as the main browser. Adblock Plus is my favorite add-on for those invasive ad-littered websites. Please consider checking, “disable on scamfreeinternet.com” :). I won’t bombard you with too much ad. I do turn it off on trusted sites and the ones that I want to support.
- Opera - It’s actually faster than Firefox in terms of starting up. Although it doesn’t have as many add-ons as Firefox does, it’s got plenty of features built-in, and is relatively light weight. Opera 10 beta also receives 100/100 on . You can test your own browser’s score there, too. I would use it more often if more sites were compatible with it. It’s the site designer’s fault.
File Sharing
- µTorrent - Light weight and dependable Bittorrent client.
- eMule - Although torrent gets the most attention these days, eMule is still a very good P2P fie sharing program. With the addition of server-free Kad network, searches return good results. Lots of users, lots of files. I use it mostly for Korean stuff. I get very good speeds as Korean peers that I connect to have the best internet :). You should take the time to set it up properly for safety and efficiency. Look at my guide on eMule.
Email Client
- Thunderbird – Easy to organize your emails. Lots of features and add-ons. I also set up my Gmail accounts with Thunderbird.
Anti-Spyware
- Spyware Blaster – Prevents spyware ever entering your system, by adding block lists to IE and Firefox. Therefore, it doesn’t need to run in the background. The free version doesn’t have automatic update, but as long as you update once a while, you’ll be fine.
- Windows Defender – Well, it come with Vista and Windows 7. It’s well integrated into Windows, so if you use Windows, you might as well use it. It auto-updates as a part of Windows Update.
- I don’t feel it’s necessary to install more anti-spyware programs as the two above should keep most spywares out. But if you want more protection, you can check out SpywareTerminator and SuperAntiSpyware.
Anti-Virus
- Avast! Home Edition – Avast and AVG are the most popular anti-virus programs today. They’re both free and just as effective as the paid ones. I recommend Avast! over AVG because it’s smaller and known to have one of the best detection rates.
Cleaning and Tweaking
- CCleaner - I talked about this one in the Registry Cleaners article. It’s simple, effective, and safe. Read more on why I prefer CCleaner over other cleaners in the Registry Cleaners article >>
- Autorun - It’s a very small program you can use to see what processes are starting up with Windows as well as services and drivers. Very useful in diagnosing start up errors etc.
- Perfect Disk – This one’s not free, but it gets the job done right. The best defragging software.
Compression
- WinRAR - Supports almost every compression format out there. If you need to extract RAR, ZIP, 7Z, etc, WinRAR will efficiently handle all of them.
Benchmarking
- CPU-Z – Shows CPU, MB, RAM info
- Everest - Wide range of benchmarking and system info
- Fraps - Measures FPS (frames per second) of games
- HWMonitor - Simple all-in-one hardware monitor tool
- CoreTemp - Acurate system temperature measurement
Audio and Video
- K-Lite Codec Pack – This is what you need if you have trouble playing certain video or audio files. Includes many codecs, yet, it is well put together to avoid conflicts.
- Media Player Classic – Is included with K-Lite codec pack, but if you are only looking for a player, this is a very good alternative to Windows Media Player. May not be fancy looking, but it does what it’s supposed to do very well.
- Media Monkey – Audio player and a library. It’s like Itunes, but better.
- Quick Time Alternative and Real Alternative – If you need to watch quicktime movie trailers but don’t want to install Quicktime player, then the QT Alternative is what you want. You can enjoy all the quicktime media without installing the official player. Real Alternative is the same idea.
- Songbird - Like Media Monkey, but it’s free and open-source. It’s based on the Firefox engine. I’m sure it will gain more popularity as time passes. But I ended up going back to Media Monkey due to some script features in Media Monkey. I definitely want Songbird to succeed.
- VLC Media Player – If you don’t want to bother installing codecs to watch videos, then this is for you. It plays virtually all media types without the requirement of an external codec. It can even play an incomplete file (not all the time, tough).
- Winamp - Good ol’ Winamp. I only use it for shoutcast radio, but still good and under constant development.
CD/DVD Burning
- ConvertXtoDVD - Easy to use DVD making application. Burn your avi (and other) files to DVD with ease. Then you can play it on any DVD player.
- PowerISO - Create and burn ISOs. Also includes a virtual drive to mount ISOs.
- Alcohol 120% – Similar to PowerISO, but you’ll specifically need Alcohol 120% or MagicISO for some filetypes. Alcohol has a nice interface and a virtual drive, too.
Desktop Enhancements
- Object Dock – Want a dock on your Windows desktop like Mac? Use this free app to do just that. is a good source for icons and themes.
- Rocket Dock – Very much like Object Dock, but much lighter on the resource. Use this if you have a slower computer or want a smaller app. I prefer this over Object Dock.
Miscellaneous
- Damn NFO Viewer – Having trouble reading those damn NFOs? Use this 263KB app to solve that problem. It’s much better than opening them in Notepad.
Well There you have it. There are way more programs that I use, of course, but the above list is a compilation of essentials plus a few. I’ll probably do an updated version in the future, so stay tuned. If you have some good recommendations, please do share.
Also: Check out the newly compiled SCAM LISTS.
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