Absolutely Free Software -
Best
Windows Internet / Network Freeware
No shareware, no nagware, no adware. Reviewed constantly. Categorized conveniently.
This page is updated regularly. Last update: September 23, 2005.
Free Internet / Network Software
Web Browser
Firefox
Opera
updated 9/23
If you use still use Internet Explorer, stop. Now. I mean it. Firefox or Opera are better in practically every way.
They are more secure (no more spyware from just browsing to a site). They block pop-up advertisements. They have "tabbed browsing", which means you can have more than one page open at a time.
Firefox has hundreds of extensions available that will let you do everything from downloading an entire site to making advertisements completely disappear. You can increase or decrease a page's font size with just a keystroke or mouseclick.
Opera has a built-in IRC client, built-in note-taker, built-in image zoom, mouse gestures, customizable style sheets. Loads and runs faster than Internet Explorer.
They are both better than Internet Explorer.
Is Opera better than Firefox? Read the full article comparing Opera and Firefox here.
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/
http://opera.com/
Free Email Client /Newsreader
Thunderbird
If you use Outlook Express, stop. Now. I mean it. Thunderbird is better in practically every way.
If it sounds like you just read this before, maybe it's because Thunderbird is made by the same team that developed Firefox. Microsoft has stopped development on Outlook Express, and it shows. Thunderbird has built-in spam filtering, an RSS newsreader, more advanced searching, message color-coding, and the ability to group emails by conversation. To help make the transition easy, Thunderbird can automatically import all your Outlook Express settings.
It's better than Outlook Express. Use it now. 'nuff said.
http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird
Free FTP Software
Filezilla
FTP clients should be simple. There are really only a few things than 99% of users need to do. You upload files, you download files. You save ftp site settings. Maybe you rename them on the server sometimes. Maaaaaybe you change file permissions. Filezilla does these things simply and perfectly. Easy to use, quick to start. It supports all the normal encryption methods as well.
http://filezilla.sourceforge.net/
Free BitTorrent
Azureus
Does everything you would want a BitTorrent client to do. You can pause downloads, prioritize them, and throttle upload speeds. It supports DHT (Distributed Hash Table), which means, basically, there's less chance of the tracker being down.
http://azureus.sourceforge.net/
Free Chat
GAIM - Instant Messenger
updated August 24, 2005
GAIM allows you chat on all major networks using any protocol without advertisements. AIM, ICQ, MSN Messenger, Yahoo!, IRC, Jabber, Gadu-Gadu, Zephyr and now Google Talk.
If you chat, use GAIM.
Google Talk has just been released, and their client is not bad at all.
full review and download link
http://gaim.sourceforge.net/
Free Remote Access Software
Ultr@VNC
Controls a computer over a local network or the internet. There are quite a few free applications that do this, and I've tried most of them. Ultr@VNC is currently the best of the lot. It supports session encryption via a plugin (some do not), so you won't get any eavesdroppers. It's also fast. If there's a faster remote access application, I've yet to find it.
http://ultravnc.sourceforge.net/
Free Telnet / SSH
PuTTY
PuTTY is the undisputed champion of Windows SSH terminals. It's also an excellent telnet and sFTP client. It also has several other SSH-related goodies.
http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/
Free Website Downloader
HTTrack
SpiderZilla
For downloading entire websites to view offline, HTTrack is the easiest solution. You can specify advanced filters, how deep in structure you wish to go, what directories to stay on, etc. SpiderZilla is an extension to Firefox that acts as a front-end to HTTrack, making it even easier.
http://www.httrack.com/
http://spiderzilla.mozdev.org/
Free Download Accelerator / Download Manager
Free Download Manager
So what does a download accelerator / manager do? It lets you schedule, prioritize and generally control your http and ftp downloads, You should be able to throttle speeds or split the download into sections and simultaneously download the sections, thereby increasing your speed when possible. It should be able to save site info, user names and passwords. It should be able to download entire websites or all files of a specific type from a website. It should be able to make cinnamon toast. Well, maybe not that last one. What can I say? Free Download Manager does all these things in an intuitive interface. Highly recommended.
http://www.freedownloadmanager.org/download.htm
Free RSS Reader / NewsFeed Reader
AmphetaDesk
new! updated August 18, 2005
There are a lot of options and ways to get RSS feeds. You can use on online service like Plucker . If you have a Yahoo or Google account, you can subscribe to feeds through your home page. Thunderbird has a built-in (albeit simple) reader. However, if you would like something a little more powerful and dedicated, I recommend AmphetaDesk .
http://www.disobey.com/amphetadesk/
Free VOIP / Internet Telephony
Skype
new! updated August 18, 2005
I've reviewed all of the major free VOIP (Voice Over IP) packages, and in this case, the best is also the biggest: Skype . As they put it, "Talk to anyone free. Forever." Well, almost. "Anyone" has to have a Skype account as well. That said, the software is simple to set up, easy to use, and provides excellent audio quality.
http://skype.com/
Free Browser Search Toolbar
Google Toolbar
Available for both Internet Explorer (yuk) and Firefox (yay!). The Google toolbar isn't particularly whiz-bang or feature-rich, but it's the best because it searches... Google.
http://toolbar.google.com
Free Internet Filtering Software
Naomi
new! added August 26, 2005
But what about the children! Won't somebody think of the children?
I'm being silly, but the sad truth is that the 'net can be a pretty slimy place. The best way to watch out for your kids is to monitor their surfing activities. Naomi helps by filtering adult and violent content. It's not a simple list of banned sites. It actually monitors all network connections and uses heuristic and semantic analysis to examine chat, news lists, etc.
http://www.radiance.m6.net/
Free Spam Blocker / Spam Filter
SpamBayes
new! added August 30, 2005
Oh, you actually like spam? It makes you feel less lonely? Get away from me, you pathetic fool!
SpamBayes uses a Bayesian filter (don't they all?) to get rid of spam. That means that it learns, according to your habits and preferences, what is and what is not spam. As those nasty spammers get more clever to get past your filter, SpamBayes adjusts and responds.
It comes in a couple different flavors, according to your needs. There's an Outlook plugin and both a Pop3 and IMAP proxy.
http://spambayes.sourceforge.net/
Free Website Monitor
WebMon
new! added September 8, 2005
You've got a list of sites that you check all the time to see if anything new is added or changed. I know you do. We all do. Like, oh, I don't know... nedwolf.com?
The function of a website monitor is to monitor websites. duh. If anything changes, you're alerted. This is highly configurable and allows you to specify a specific area on a page to monitor. Of course, you can schedule how often you want it to run as well.
thanks, Jonas!
