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8 Freeware Alternatives Every Windows User Should Install

February 21, 2008 by Sumesh 23 Comments

Paid Windows software like Norton AntiVirus, Adobe Photoshop and Nero are etched into the minds of users thanks to years of advertising by the powerful corporations that own them.

Most of the times the users are not aware of the fact that there are several free alternatives on the market. More importantly, these free alternatives tend to perform just as well as their paid cousins, while consuming less resources and providing a cleaner interface.

Below you will find 8 free software that you can use for a wide range of purposes.

1. Avast AntiVirus: Currently at version 4, and free for home use.

avast-mac-skin.jpg

Avast is the best antivirus in terms of resource consumption. It has a low CPU and memory footprint, even while scanning. Several independent tests have found out that Avast is comparable to Norton Antivirus, Kaspersky etc. in terms of scanning accuracy, quicker than every other antivirus, and has the smallest online updates among them. Virus definition updates often go unnoticed, and we are alerted only when the update is complete.

There are several skins available for Avast. My personal favorite is the Mac OS X theme that mimics the Mac interface well, but there is a Vista theme also.

2. Spybot S&D: Free for private use.

spybot-startup.jpg

Spybot S&D is one of the best anti-spyware tools available. Working in tandem with Ad-Aware SE, these two tools can sweep out most malware. The interface is simple, and presents three large buttons: Check for problems, Recovery and Search for Updates. Self-descriptive commands and options are the hallmark of Spybot S&D. There are two modes, Default and Advanced. Advanced mode adds many new options, but one wrong step and you may make or break the computer. The program will warn this when you try to switch to Advanced mode, though.

3. Foxit PDF: Free for personal use, contains an upgrade option for PDF editing and advanced usage.

foxit.jpg

Adobe Reader takes several seconds to load up. However, a free, lightweight alternative called Foxit is available. Foxit can be used as a basic reader for free, but advanced features like editing require a paid upgrade. It is the ‘light-weight’ factor that makes Foxit so attractive. Foxit also includes nifty features like minimizing to tray to reduce clutter on the taskbar.

4. ImgBurn: Currently at version 2.4, and free for personal use.

imgburn.jpg

ImgBurn is a lightweight disc burning program, with a focus on getting things done quickly. Too many options may come in your way in Nero, but ImgBurn makes disc burning look easy. When starting up, you are met with a startup screen with options like ‘Write image file to disc’, ‘Write files to disc’ etc. Clicking one of those large icons takes you to the appropriate window.

5. FeedReader/FeedDemon: Free.

feedreader.jpg

Feed reading can be made fun and enjoyable by using a desktop feed reader. While these do not have features like ‘Shared Items’ in Google, they are quick and easy to use. You can read feeds much like reading emails in a desktop app. There are options to bookmark favorite posts for further reference, and there is a separate folder for these bookmarked posts. FeedDemon has another useful feature – synchronization with Newsgator online account. This can be particularly useful if you move between several computers regularly, and want to stay synchronized.

6. VLC player: Free and open-source.

vlc.jpg

VLC player is best known as a play-it-all media player. The open-source VLC player can play videos with ease. The interface design is rather drab, but not difficult to use. Weighing in at a hefty 35 MB, VLC might look heavy. However, this extra megabytes is caused by the codecs that are bundled. So, you can play most formats without installing any codecs on the PC.

VLC is one of the few players that can play FLV and mobile video files without conversion.

7. Digsby/Pidgin: Free (Digsby) and open-source (Pidgin).

digsby.jpg

Multi-protocol instant messenger clients are always desirable for those who chat often, or need to connect with users of different protocols. Digsby was launched recently and is invite-only (get invite codes here and here), while Pidgin is free and open-source. Pidgin has a large number of plugins and themes available, while Digsby is feature-rich by default. Digsby has inline email reply(within the client) and integration with Facebook and MySpace – two innovative features. If you’re tired of Pidgin’s drab interface, try Digsby – it has a pleasant-looking interface.

8. IZArc: Free.

izarc.jpg

IZArc is a powerful archive/unarchive utility. It is free and lightweight. It has all the features of other archival utilities, plus some extra features like unpacking .iso files to component files. This can be particularly useful when you get a disc and need to extract and install any single part of the software, say the .net framework (I have used it for that particular purpose).

I have been using these freeware for over a year, and have never felt like going back to the paid software. Of course, this would require slight adjustments in our mentality and habits, but these can be done easily, once you remember that the benefits of using these are saving money, and saving system resources.

Filed Under: Software Tagged With: alternatives, free, freeware, install, Software, windows

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Comments

  1. Shankar Ganesh says

    February 21, 2008 at 11:47 am

    Good Post, stumbled!

    IZArc is new to me, I’ve never heard of it before. I’ve been using WinRAR for a long time, but I think it’s time to try this one you’ve mentioned.

  2. Syahid A. says

    February 21, 2008 at 12:05 pm

    Good list one. I use most of them, except for VLC. I’ve found a clone with the same feature called GOM Media Player.

  3. JC John SESE Cuneta says

    February 21, 2008 at 12:17 pm

    Hi, I think you got confused with the term “commercial” and mixed it up with “paid” or “for-charge” 😉

    Foxit, SpybotS&D, Avast are commercial products 😉 But “free-of-charge” 😉

    Anyway, thanks for the list. Going to check those that I am not aware of 😀

    God Bless!

  4. Sumesh says

    February 21, 2008 at 12:28 pm

    @Shankar: IZArc is quite good as it can also extract some unusual stuff like ISO files.
    @Syahid: Looks like I’ll be checking out GOM too. Thanks!

    Thanks to everyone for your responses

  5. Daniel says

    February 21, 2008 at 12:38 pm

    Good point JC, I fixed that.

  6. Bret says

    February 21, 2008 at 1:50 pm

    Not the usual list of “must have” free Windows apps. ImgBurn and IZArc are new to me. Nice to see one of these lists trying to call attention to lesser known apps.

  7. Mihai Lupu says

    February 21, 2008 at 4:39 pm

    What about SIW from http://www.gtopala.com ?

  8. Sumesh says

    February 22, 2008 at 2:30 am

    @Bret: ImgBurn and IZArc pack a punch, so try it out!

    @Arun: Thanks, and I won’t be trying the Adobe Reader – not while Foxit’s around.

  9. Dirk says

    February 22, 2008 at 4:58 am

    I disagree on Avast. As far as superior protection combined with a small footprint, it’s tough to beat NOD32. Tests run by AV-Comparatives.org would bear this out. Avast is still a good product. Thanks for the list.

  10. Sumesh says

    February 22, 2008 at 5:26 am

    @Dirk: NOD32 might have been good on a few tests, but most of the tests I’ve seen uphold Avast – it is better than even Norton in terms of response time etc.

  11. Geoserv says

    February 23, 2008 at 3:24 am

    Spybot is definitely one of the top ones.

    DOTTED – http://www.newsdots.com/software/8-freeware-alternatives-every-windows-user-should-install/

  12. Manoj says

    February 23, 2008 at 1:18 pm

    Where is Opera Web Browser?

  13. Ted D says

    February 28, 2008 at 8:29 am

    Thanks for the Avast Skins… I didn’t know about them. Wheres Firefox??

  14. Victor says

    March 22, 2008 at 8:45 pm

    Other really good free softwares:

    – Avira antivir: a think this is the best free antivirus. The heuristic detection really works and in real time. It’s really light weight for background protection
    – Glary utilities: this is the best system cleaner and optimizer that I ever tried.
    – AVG antispyware
    – Gom player – the best video player
    – Peazip – archiver
    – XnView, Irfanviewer, Fs Viewer
    – Magix extreme photo designer
    – paint.net
    – Rainlendar
    – trillian – IM
    – Spywaredoctor starter edition
    – a-squared free
    – Hijack free
    – ThreatFire
    – PcTools antivirus
    – Burnaware free
    – Open office
    – Filezilla – FTP client
    – Opera – browser and email client

  15. Gerard Espinas says

    August 28, 2008 at 7:52 am

    Useful information. Thanks!

  16. thoms says

    November 27, 2008 at 9:48 am

    Thanks for the list, Im french but I want to know what is the best version of win xp?
    I have a very slow computer (x21 from IBM, 700 Mhz, 256 ram) so I wanted to install a very light version of a customed windowns xp.

    I already install the LSD version, but its very slow and they take the “deframenter” out.

    Thanks for your advices.

  17. Phaoloo says

    June 15, 2009 at 10:40 am

    VLC and Foxit reader are now no the alternatives. They are the first choices of many users like me 🙂

  18. Jim says

    January 26, 2010 at 2:23 pm

    Microsoft security Essentials is freeware and a nice program that covers ant-ivirus and anti-spyware.

  19. ramona says

    September 27, 2010 at 10:09 pm

    i think the internet is a very good way to communicate in this modern age. thank God for free software . no matter what comes out next there is still nothing out there that anyone can use to keep the hackers out of your pc. if there is one i sure do not know about.

  20. The Hacker says

    November 1, 2011 at 3:50 pm

    Make sure you have a good firewall and an antivirus program. No hacker will waste his time hacking a home pc.

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