10 Freeware Favorites Sensible Downloads That Don't Cost a Cent Eric Grevstad
Mon 11/4/02 -- The late, not-very-lamented magazine PC/Computing used to pull a fast one every year: For the sake of newsstand sales, they'd run a cover promising, "100 Great Software Programs You Can Get FREE!", when the programs listed weren't freeware but shareware -- which every downloader knows you can try or test-drive for free, but are legally and ethically bound to pay for if you decide to use regularly.
At WinPlanet, we're cheap but virtuous. So we thought we'd spotlight 10 favorite, truly free Windows programs and utilities -- some old favorites we've recommended before, some newer discoveries not previously mentioned on the site. All are free, not limited-time trialware or privacy-invading spyware (some are adware, subsidized by small on-screen ads, and several discreetly urge you to register and/or upgrade to paid versions with more features, but none collect and transmit identifiable personal information).
In fact, with these programs, you can keep your wallet tight shut while enjoying a full suite of productivity, utility, and virus and firewall protection software -- everything except the operating system itself. (We have sistersites that cover Linux.)
AVG AntiVirus (5.1MB download): You know you need protection against virus-infected programs and e-mails, but did you know there's a popular free alternative to brand names like Norton and McAfee? A number of readers have urged us to plug this Czech import, which offers everything from automated program and virus-database updates to isolation and automatic repair of contaminated files. It doesn't have the tech support or sophisticated test scheduling and customization of the $40 AVG Professional, but it's the real deal.
ZoneAlarm 3.1 (3.6MB): Virus protection is only half of a modern PC's safety shield; the other half is a personal firewall to block the hackers, snoopers, and probes rattling the doorknob of every always-on DSL or cable connection. Zone Labs has both several good competitors (such as the free Sygate Personal Firewall) and several good arguments to upgrade to the $50 ZoneAlarm Pro (see our review of version 3.0), but if you're stuck with a $0 budget, we endorse the freebie ZoneAlarm unhesitatingly.
Pop-Up Stopper 2.9 (445K): The paradigm of what a free utility should be: It does a small job (blocking annoying pop-up ads on Web pages) like a charm; it works simply and invisibly (once you learn the new habit of pressing a Ctrl or Shift key when clicking a link you actually want to open a new window); it's the first step on a tier of worth-paying-for products with extra features, but never nags or bugs you about them.
Find (476K): Keep an eye on this one: a now-in-beta-test tool from Idealabs (the dot-com launch pad mostly famous for bombs like eToys), it's a mini browser/file manager frame -- resident on the Windows taskbar, where frankly we liked it better, until last week's release 104 made it a separate, floating toolbar -- that combines instant access to Google Web searches (or another search engine if you prefer) with ditto to the files on your hard disk and the messages in your e-mail folders.
Find's local searches work only on filenames, not the contents of your files -- although it performs invaluable searches on the contents of e-mails -- and its file viewers are hit-and-miss. But if you've forgotten the storage folder or full name of a document, or want a single, much-faster-than-Windows-Explorer interface for both file-searching and Web lookups, it shows promise.
IrfanView 3.75 (808K): Speaking of outdoing Windows Explorer, Austrian Irfan Skiljan's freeware favorite offers at-a-glance single and slide-show viewing, format conversion, and image-tweaking for almost every graphic file type you can think of, with an array of available plug-ins (3.2MB) for flocks of audio and multimedia formats. Wallpaper collectors and digital-camera divas shouldn't boot up without it.
