Best Free Programs for Windows

Free as in Freedom

There are two types of free software.  Those that are open source (free as in freedom) grant you access to both the software and the source code (the building blocks of the software).  This allows anyone to improve the software.  The second type provide the software for free (free as in cookies) but don't provide the source code.  These programs, often called freeware, frequently have restrictions concerning who can use the software and how many licenses you can have before you have to pay a price.  The following is an alphabetical list of open source programs that I often recommend to my clients.

• 7-Zip - 7-Zip is the Swiss army knife of compression programs.  If you have a zipped file you need to extract in just about any format known to man (including RAR), this is the program you want.
• Audacity - Audacity is a sound editing program.  If you need to convert something from .wav to .mp3, make a song louder, or just cut out the 10 most important seconds of a recording, this is the program for you.
• Blender - Blender is a 3D modeling program, like 3D Studio Max or Maya.  If you are a 3D graphic artist and don't have $4,000 to drop on proprietary software, you'll definitely want to give Blender a try.
  
• ClamWin - ClamWin is a simple anti-virus program.  It does not have a real-time scanner, meaning that it doesn't scan every file when you open it.  Because of that, I wouldn't recommend it as your only anti-virus system.  See AVG Free in the Free as in Cookies section for a recommended anti-virus solutions.  Clam anti-virus is often integrated into other free anti-virus solutions, like Untangle further down in this section.
• Firefox - Firefox is one of the best browsers available for Windows, and definitely a lot better than stinky Internet Explorer.  Among other things it has a better security record and faster web page rendering.
• FreeOTFE (Free On-The-Fly Encryption) - FreeOTFE is my favorite encryption software for Windows.  Encryption software is used to protect your data so that even if someone else steals your computer they still can't read your files.  It is a little technical, but if you want to give it a try feel free to read over the manual on their website.  I like FreeOTFE better than TrueCrypt because it can read encrypted containers created with LUKS (Linux Unified Key Setup - the default encryption system built into the Linux kernel) and it doesn't have nasty bugs with Microsoft's Backup software.
• GIMP (Gnu Image Manipulation Program) - GIMP is an Adobe Photoshop replacement.  It's not quite up to par if you are a professional graphic editor, but for the home user it does about everything you need.  (I should warn you that the interface is a little clunky.  Check out the online documentation if you have any questions.)
• Inkscape - Inkscape is an Adobe Illustrator replacement.  It's getting pretty powerful.  I know one graphic artist who loves it.
• InfraRecorder - This is probably the best open source CD/DVD burning software for Windows.  I prefer this over any of the proprietary options.
• OpenOffice - OpenOffice is a complete office suite, a la Microsoft Office.  It uses the international standard Open Document file format, which will probably eventually be adopted by everyone, including Microsoft Office (although they are fighting it every step of the way).
• PDFCreator - PDFCreator sets up a printer on your computer that instead of printing to a real printer creates a PDF document.  This allows any program that you use to create PDF documents.  PDFCreator isn't the only such program, but it is one of the best.
• Thunderbird - Thunderbird is a free email client originally created by the same organization that brings us Firefox.  Thunderbird has excellent spam filtering capabilities.  It also has a large collection of optional addons.  My favorites are Lightning (an integrated calendar), Display Mail User Agent (shows the program that was used to write the emails you receive), Enigmail (digitally signs and encrypts emails, requires Gpg4win), and SyncKolab (synchronizes contacts, tasks, and calendars between multiple computers).
• Untangle - Untangle is a virtual gateway appliance that filters your internet connection, blocks bad websites, porn, viruses, adware, spyware, phishing, and a whole lot more.  It can run either as a virtual machine inside of an existing Windows computer or as a stand-alone Linux installation.  For large networks I would recommend running the stand-alone version for performance reasons, but you might be able to get away with it on Windows on a home network.

Free as in Cookies

There are some programs that aren't open source but are free to use (at least under some circumstances).  The following is an alphabetical list of free programs that I often recommend to my clients.

• AVG (Anti-Virus Grisoft) Free - AVG has a free version and a paid version.  Their website states, "AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition is for private, non-commercial, single computer use only. The use of AVG Free within any organization or for commercial purposes is prohibited."  If you have a second computer at your house I would recommend you purchase AVG Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware, which is the same program I recommend to my business clients.  On install, I always deselect all references to link scanners, web scanners, toolbars, spam filters, firewalls, and anything else along those lines because, let's face it, antivirus companies should never be allowed to make such things.  And Grisoft is definitely no exception.  I also disable the daily scan of every single file on my computer.  It's already scanning every file ever time I open it.  Why would I want to destroy the functionality of my computer for two hours every day when there is no real benefit?
  
• CCleaner - CCleaner cleans up all those old temporary files that all your programs like to leave lying around, sometimes freeing up a fair amount of space.  It also removes some unused entries in your registry.  Check out the instructions I wrote for using CCleaner for more information.
• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware - A couple of years ago Malwarebytes came out of nowhere and started stomping the trash out of spyware that slips right past everyone else.  Malwarebytes does a good job of undoing the damage a lot of adware and spyware leave behind.  Because the free version does not include a realtime scanner, it can be installed along side your existing antivirus solution.  I typically use both Malwarebytes and AVG to remove viruses from infected computers.