This week’s column marks my first year writing the FreewareFrenzy. To celebrate a full year of freeware reviews, I thought I would talk about what programs have stood the test of time; the apps that are still sitting on my hard drive, and I use often. I recommend any and all of the following programs. Simply click on the name to read each one’s individual review.
Security
AVG and Avast! include multiple shields of protection, automatic and frequent updates, and minimal resource usage. AVG specializes in virus protection, while Avast combines anti virus and firewall protections to keep harmful files away from my computer.
SpywareBlaster protects my PC’s browser from known malware sites and prevents ActiveX controls from activating. While occasional manual updates are needed, the program is otherwise ‘set and forget’. It does not need to be running at all times to keep your PC safe. I recommend installing it on any internet-connected PC.
Hoster is a program that lets you easily access your HOSTs file, which is the real focus of my review. Keeping an updated hosts file lets you avoid the unsightly ad words, pop-ups and in-your-face advertising images that mar the web surfing experience. By adding tens of thousands of known ad servers to your hosts file, your computer will never download all those ads, making for safer, faster and less cluttered browsing.
HijackThis, CCleaner, Spybot Search and Destroy, and Ad-Aware SE comprise my suite of anti-spyware programs. HijackThis provides me with access to all running processes and programs in order to track down malware that has taken control of a computer. The program is extremely useful if a machine has been seemingly taken over by malware, and the set of included tools make it even more appealing. CCleaner is not specifically for malware, but it is an excellent addition to the collection. After scanning your entire hard drive for issues and junk files, you can quickly remove them to speed up any system that has been lacking routine maintenance. Spybot and Ad-Aware are my main tools for scanning a computer to rid it of any spyware. No program on the net today can find everything all the time, but this pair will come close. Both release frequent updates to a constantly growing database of known malware so you know that your computer is as safe as it can be.
Media
Winamp is a powerful, easy to use package for my multimedia needs. I can organize music, play most major music and video formats, access streaming radio, TV and music videos from Winamp, AOL music and Shoutcast. On top of that, Winamp features custom skins, tagging, dozens of custom options and plug-ins. With Winamp, I rarely need any other media player.
AudioCrusher is my go-to CD ripping program. It connects to the CDDB for tags, supports multiple file types and their subsequent options such as MP3 bitrates. AudioCrusher rips all my CDs quickly and easily and has never let me down.
Real Alternative and QuickTime Alternative are two alternatives for the popular media formats with not-so-popular players. Instead, these use a simple player to support all Real Media and Apple QuickTime files without any bloat or nagging notices to upgrade to a Pro version.
Communication
Avant Browser adds the features that we’ve all come to expect in alternative browsers; tabs, window management, RSS feeds, customization, extra security, etc. Avant adds all this on to Internet Explorer, so any websites or programs that require IE will still function. And, to be fair, while I have tried Opera and Firefox, I found that Avant had everything I needed.
mIRC is a quick and easy way to enter the IRC networks. Combined with scripts for customization, mIRC is the only app I need to connect with friends all over the world.
ePrompter is a recent review, but I find the app very convenient. I can check multiple e-mail accounts, even the popular web based ones such as Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo! without ever having to surf to each page and login everyday.
Extras
Tweak UI will unlock the options that should be easily accessible in Windows XP. Customize your operating system exactly how you want it to function, not how Microsoft thinks you do. From mouse scrolling speed to removing the tiny arrows on shortcut icons, TweakUI has all those little changes that make your computing experience just a little bit more you.
FoxIT Reader combines all the PDF reading ability and integration as Adobe Acrobat Reader without the slow downs and bloat. I have been using it as my default PDF viewer for months, and have noticed a significant decrease in crashes and a similar increase in speed.
Syncback is the best freeware app for data backup on the net. I use it to save documents from my various computers to a network file server. The various options for tweaking, scheduled backups and custom profiles make SyncBack all you need to backup and/or synchronize your important data.
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