When the word 'free' is mentioned our ears always prick up. Whether it's to enhance your office systems or just keep you busy during down time, the web, it would seem, has the answer to it all - and a bulk of this veritable treasure trove is free.
Everything you could ever want... for free
But how do you decide what will stay true and serve its purpose? And how do you avoid something that will crash and burn, taking your expensive system along with it?
Fortunately you don't have to. Here we give you a list of the greatest, must-have free software and the best services on the internet.
Security
AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition
This ever-popular antivirus has stood its ground over the years and is still a favourite with most computer users. It is light on system resources and for an app that is small in size, it packs in most of the features that other expensive apps offer to give you rock solid protection.
It runs in the background and only springs into action when needed and is very unobtrusive. An email scanning ability other than the normal hard drive scan, automatic updates, schedule scan, Windows Explorer integration, and real-time protection through AVG Resident Shield make this a very impressive antivirus tool. It even has an option for creating a rescue disk to scan your computer in MS-DOS mode for a situation when you cannot boot into Windows.
AVG download Anti-Virus Free Edition here.
Spyware Terminator 2.1
Spyware Terminator stands out among the free antispyware apps because of its comprehensive features and it has been giving other expensive antispyware apps a run for their money. Think of any feature that an antispyware should have and you will find that Spyware Terminator has it all, which is impressive for a completely free antispyware tool.
Besides providing normal protection for detecting and removing known spywares, it even has a tool, Host Intrusion Prevention System (HIPS), for protection against unknown threats. It has an antivirus (ClamAV) integrated into it for scanning and removing viruses. The web security guard protects you from potentially dangerous websites.
The most remarkable thing is that Spyware Terminator 2.1 provides real-time protection against spyware and other malware which other free antispyware apps don't include. The other essential features such as scan customisation, auto updates and scheduled scan are included which make this a fully-featured antispyware tool.
Download Spyware Terminator 2.1 here.
Spyware Doctor Starter Edition is another impressive tool for weeding out spyware from your PC, providing you efficient protection without putting too much of a burden on your system.
See also:
15 fabulous, free PC security programs
Visit Security Advisor for the latest internet threat news, and internet security product reviews
NEXT PAGE: More free security downloads and a look at the best free office applications available online > >
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- Photo-sharing freebies
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- Open-source operating systems and video tools
- Desktop software utilities
- System tools
- Social-networking solutions
- More video tools
- Home entertainment freebies
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- For the best free software, visit PC Advisor Downloads
Comments
Dany Mitchell said: Ron accept my apologies now I am reading the entire postarticle I guess I need to get some sleep Sorry Peace
Dany Mitchell said: What are we talking about here Its my impression only I guess I dont understand Ron For example I use Ad-Aware SpyBot Search and Destroy combined with Kaspersky Antivirus 70 and not a single infection This is my successfull formula for getting more than a decent protection I dont want to try all the anti-spyware programs If I will feel that my computer is being compromised I am going to download more of them and try them until one of them detects other infections Until then I see no reason to try anything else and as you can see I am using 2 freeware programs 1 shareware
Tom said: Dany Mitchell - Unfortunately most of the free software also comes with aggressive advertising included or at least annoying oneI havent come across one piece of software here with advertising and Ive tried quite of few of themMost appear open source Please download and try them before commenting
Peter B said: Is there a problem with this article All page numbers after page 5 seen to have the same content as page 5 but do display the correct page number at the top
Ron said: Spyware Doctor Starter Edition provides only partial protection and apparently not 100 comprehensive updates - so whats the point Ad-Aware and AVG Anti-Spyware are so much better yet dont get a mention A little pre-publication research would have been nice here guys
Ron said: Spyware Terminator hogs 100 of system resources even before a scan is started I can live with that except that its not wonderfully effective what I find unacceptable is that Im expected to restart my PC every time the damned real-time protection widget updates itself or it stops working What idiot ever thought THAT was a good idea
Dany Mitchell said: I have a GREAT RESPECT for OPEN SOURCE COMMUNITY as they are unique Sorry for misspell I am a little tired
Dany Mitchell said: Michael I agree with you 100 I wasnt talking about Open Source I know what Open Source is I use sometimes Linux and for example I use on my Windows OS - GIMP which is my favourite graphical program I was reffering at free software like Azureus and Yahoo Messenger although those are two happy examples of free software that includes advertising I know that I downloaded annoying free software with aggresive advertising tracking cookies and so onso what I wanted to say is that I agreee with you and I have a GREAT RESPECT for OPEN SOURCE COMMUNITY and they are unique
Michael said: to Dany Mitchell- you will find a lot of this software is NOT freeware or shareware but is Open-Soure software which does not normally come with any aggressive advertising included or any annoying one you will also find Open-Soure software often comes with more features then both freeware amp shareware Also you will find Open-soure software does Not come with any hidden malware software unlike freeware amp shareware software which often does contain hidden malware but not always
Dany Mitchell said: Unfortunately most of the free software also comes with aggressive advertising included or at least annoying one Why there isnt a list of the most 40 popular applications I saw a similar software list on wwwdownloadbestsoftcom which included both freeware and shareware software If those are free doesnt necessarily needs to be a better alternative to a shareware solution Sure they can be if you cannot afford under any circumstances to pay for them Again unfortunately from experience I learned that when you need some features you will find them only at shareware software This is why freeware software represents only a compromise to shareware one