Essential Freeware eXpress
4 Windows


Over time, I've searched the internet more than once for freeware to perform various tasks on my computer.
This page is a list of the programs that I found most useful and best suited to my needs.
Hopefully, it will save you some time and trouble.

To expand a category, click on the section title.
Enjoy !

Codecs and Plugins
Codecs: CodecInstaller (& analyzer)
Codecs: DirectX
Codecs: DivX
Codecs: xVid
Codecs: K-Lite Codec Pack
Codecs: VobSub (Subtitles)
Plugins: Macromedia Flash Player
Plugins: Macromedia Shockwave Player

Desktop Gadgets
Objectdock
Googledesktop
Yahoo Widgets (ex-Konfabulator)
eSnips
Ript
Dexpot
Launchy
Visual Task Tips
Vista Drive Icon
DExposE2 Reloaded + bLend
TK8 StickyNotes
Fences

Developer's Corner
Linux Emulator & C++ Compiler: Cygwin
Linux Emulator & C++ Compiler: MinGW
Linux Emulator: XMinG
Webserver: Apache
PHP Server: PHP.net
PHP Server: Easy PHP
SQL Server: MySQL
Programming Studio: IC#Code
Programming Studio: Code::Blocks
Programming Studio: Netbeans
Programming Studio: Eclipse
Programming Studio: Microsoft Visual Studio Express 2008
Programming: Diffuse File Diff
Programming: Doxygen Code Analysis
UML: Poseidon Community Edition
XML: MindFusion XMLViewer
XML: XMLPad
XML: XMLNotePad
PHP: Maguma Studio Free
HTML: Kompozer
Web: Topstyle Lite
Web: Free&Easy Font Viewer
Web: GoodKeywords(select the best keywords for your website)

Email Utilities
Email Client: Thunderbird
Spam protection: Spamihilator
Pop3 Plugin: FreePOPS
Outlook plugins: Outlook Helper
Outlook plugins: Remote Calendars
Mail Backup: Mailstore
Emoticons Backup: Emoticon Made Easy
Calendar Synchronization: Google Calendar Sync

Encode Rip & Burn
CD/DVD Burner: Burnaware
CD/DVD Burner: Infrarecorder
DVD Ripper: DVDFab HD Decrypter
CD Ripper: NCH ExpressRip
Audio Recorder: MP3myMP3 Recorder
Audio Recorder: Wavosaur Free Audio Editor
Encoder/Converter: Media Convert Online (converts anything into anything)
Encoder/Converter: Media Converter SA
Encoder/Converter: Mediacoder (for advanced users)
Encoder/Converter: Dr Divx
Encoder/Converter: Format Factory

Firefox Addons
How to tweak extensions compatibility
To extend an extension's compatibility,open the xpi and extract install.rdf.
Edit install.rdf and update the version number (from 1.5+ to 2.0+ for instance).
Insert install.rdf back into the xpi and install.
Extension: FEBE (Firefox Environment Backup Extension)
Extension: Foxmarks Bookmarks Syncronizer for Firefox
Extension: All-In-One Sidebar
Extension: Better GMail 2
Extension: Blank Canvas GMail Signatures
Extension: IETab
Extension: IE View Lite
Extension: Image Zoom
Extension: Piclens
Extension: Cooliris
Extension: Ubiquity
Extension: FireFTP
Extension: Converter (contextual units converter)
Extension: gTranslate
Extension: OpenSearchFox
Extension: Firefox Showcase
Extension: Clipmarks
Extension: JetEye
Extension: Firebug
Theme: Personas for Firefox
Theme: Chromifox2
Theme: Chromifox extreme
Theme: Chromifox Companion
Theme: Chromifox Basic
Extension: Video DownloadHelper

Freeware & Opensource Websites
www.osalt.com
www.freewaregenius.com
www.portablefreeware.com

GooglePack (Get GooglePack)
GooglePack lets you pick from a number of freeware then downloads and installs them.
You might find some of them are more useful than others.
The icons next to the programs indicate whether I would install them.
Adobe Reader Firefox (w/ Google toolbar) Google Desktop
Google Earth Google Photos Screensaver Google Talk
Google Toolbar for IE Norton Security Scan Picasa
RealPlayer Skype Spyware Doctor
StarOffice (includes Java TM)

Internet
Browser: Chrome
Browser: Firefox
Browser: IE9
Browser: Safari
Instant Messenger: Live Messenger
Instant Messenger: Trillian
Instant Messenger: QNext
Instant Messenger: Skype
P2P Sharing: Torrent Episode Downloader
P2P Sharing: utorrent
P2P Sharing: e-mule
P2P Sharing: ShareAza
P2P Sharing: Vuze (formerly Azureus)
Download Manager: Free Download Manager
FTP Client: Filezilla
FTP Client: FTP Commander
FTP Client: FTP Wanderer
Terminal Emulator: Van Dyke CRT
Email: G-Mail
Rss: Google RSS Reader
Webapps on your desktop: Prism

Multimedia
Media Player: GOM (& DVD Player)
Media Player: Winamp
Media Library: Windows Media Player 11
Media Library: iTunes + Quicktime
Media Library: RealPlayer
Media Library: Songbird
Media Center: Freevo
Movies DB: Med'sMovieManager
Photo Albums Library: Picasa
Image Viewer: Faststone Image Viewer
Image Viewer: ForceVision
Image Editor: Paint.Net
Screen Capture: HoverSnap
Subtitle Editor: TimeAdjuster
eBook Library: Calibre

Office
Office Suite: Star Office
Office Suite: Open Office
Lightweight Word Processor: Jarte
PDF Read/Write: Acrobat Reader
PDF Read/Write: CutePDF (Free PDF Writer & Converter)
Dictionary/Translation: Babylon Searchbox for OpenSearchFox
Dictionary/Translation: Babylon Free Download
Dictionary/Translation: Lingoes Free Dictionary (alas, no hebrew support)
Dictionary/Translation: Tradukka
Multitabbed Text Editor: PSPad
Multitabbed Text Editor: Notepad++
Multitabbed Text Editor: Notetab Lite
Remote Printing: Printer Anywhere
Password Manager: ALPass
Password Manager: Password Safe
Archiver: Tugzip
Archiver: jZip
Archiver: ZipGenius
Archiver: Peazip
Hebrew Calendar: HebCal.com
Hebrew Calendar: KaLuach
PDF Converter: PDFToWord

Security
All-In-One: McAfee VirusScan Plus (AOL)
Antivirus: Avast!Home
Antivirus: AVG Free
Antivirus: Avira Free
Firewall: Checkpoint ZoneAlarm
Firewall: Comodo
Firewall: AShampoo
Spyware protection: Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE Personal
Spyware protection: Spybot Search & Destroy
Spyware protection: Spyware Doctor
Sniffer: Wireshark
Sniffer: Ethereal

Sharing Storage Backup & Synchronizing
Sharing via eMail: Pando
Storage: Gmail Drive
Sync: BeInSync (Sync PCs by sharing 1GB of folders in web storage)
Sync: GoodSync
Backup : DriveImage XML (backup drives and images)

System & Maintenance
System Cleanup: Glary Utilities
System Cleanup: nCleaner
System Cleanup: CCleaner
System Cleanup: Revo Uninstaller
System Cleanup: Disk Scanner
Defrag: Auslogics Defrag
Defrag: JKDefrag GUI
Defrag: Defraggler
Drive Partitioning: GParted
Drive Partitioning: EaseUs
Remote Control: UltraVNC
Remote Control: Crossloops
IP Utils: HoverIP
Multitabbed Explorer: UltraExplorer
Multitabbed Explorer: ExplorerXP
Windows SysInternals: Process Explorer
Windows SysInternals: Process Monitor
CLI: Console
Monitoring: CPUID Hardware Monitor
Monitoring: SFKilla HWMonitorMeter
Monitoring: Winbar