10 Freeware titles that are worth checking out

Free software? That's nonsense! Everyone knows that there's no such thing as free software and if there is such a thing, then there's probably a catch. Who knows what kind of sacrifice you'll have to make in order to get something for free. That agreement that you just agreed to which you didn't read one word of most likely sold your soul to the devil.

Let's be optimistic here or at least pretend that you could actually get decent software whilst keeping your arm and leg intact and no further harm would come to you or your computer. Actually let's be real, there are software applications that will cost you no money and you will be able to get some good use out of them. Some of these applications are open-source and developed by hundreds or even thousands of developers around the world.

I've compiled a list of applications that I use or have used in my experience and recommend them not because they're free but because they are good at what they're designed to do. Call me a cheapskate if you wish, but I have donated to those pieces of software which I did find useful. In fact I've found some commercial software would just not work as well as their freeware counterparts.

In alphabetical order, here is the list you've been waiting for:

7-Zip
This compression utility has a special place on my thumbdrive, there isn't a file format it can't extract and if there is then it's probably a corrupt file or a figment of your imagination.

AVG Free Anti-Virus
Despite having some "upgrade to retail version" messages here and there, very minimal however, this is no demo. Fully featured to protect you and your system from nasty viruses, however you'll have to take care of those bacterial infections on your own.

CCleaner
Windows is known to be a pack rat, I bet you still have remnants of an application you got rid of 6 months ago still on that system of yours. No to worry, this application will scan and clean your system files and that filthy registry of yours too.

Firefox
This is my preferred web browser of choice. I know there are plenty of browsers out there and they're all free, but this one is just too good not to list.

Inkscape
Can't afford Illustrator or just simply need to work with some vector graphics, this is the application I'd recommend. One of my coworkers told me about this when I needed to work on some files which Photoshop wouldn't play nicely with.

ImgBurn
In my opinion it's better than all the fancy shmancy recording software suites which come with a bunch of tools you just won't use. This app is lightweight and is pretty advanced for a one-time fee of nothing.

OpenOffice.org
This suite of office applications is one I'd recommend for anyone, be it a student or otherwise. If you're familiar with Microsoft Office, you'll fit right at home with this and your bank account will thank you in the process.

Spybot - Search & Destroy
Spybot is truly king when it comes to spyware/adware prevention. To keep your system out of harms way it also has an optional resident agent which will warn you of any action that is going to take place which will change your system settings.

Thunderbird
Tired of Outlook and need a fresh face for your mail client, well this is more than just an appearance change. It's a full fledged mail center at your fingertips.

VLC media player
If there is a media file which you can't view, just get VLC there's a good chance it will playback the file. Available on many operating systems and still doesn't cost a dime.