Free Software

There is lots of good free software available on the Internet but...

Become Aware and Beware of Malware

Malware (software that does bad things) is everywhere on the Internet. Become aware of malware because you will encounter a lot of it every day on the Internet.

Malware comes in several varieties including spyware, adware, browser hi-jacking programs and others.

Unless you were actively looking for software, the free software you come across on the Internet is probably malware and you should answer "No." to installing it and just leave it alone!

Other Free Software is Good

While malware is giving all free software a bad name, there are many free software programs on the Internet that are good, free and legal. Open-source software, for instance Linux, is software that is often excellent.

Adware is a type of software that may be good or may be bad. Basically the bad adware turns your computer into an advertising machine. They good adware is software that you get for free, but it will show you some advertisements.

This page is devoted to providing you with information about good free software.

Scroll down to free software tutorial.

Free Software Listing

Read all license agreements when installing software on your computer. It's your responsibility to know and comply with manufacturer's license agreements and all other issues associated with downloading, installing and using free software.

Ad-Aware Personal
Essential program that scans your computer for known malware (adware, spyware, etc). Enables quarantine and/or deletion of the known offending programs found during the scan. Essential!

Adobe Acrobat Reader
Required to view .PDF files commonly found on websites and in email. Commonly installed at the factory. Click here and if Acrobat runs and shows a confirmation window with our logo, you're good.

Otherwise, you can install it by using the logo below.

CopyCat
Allows you to specify file copying routines that can be used over and over again. Especially useful in making automated backups..

Macromedia Flash Player
Required to view .SWF Flash Presentations commonly used on websites. Commonly installed at the factory.

Click here. If you see a little car displayed from different angles, Flash is installed. Otherwise you should download and install Flash from Macromedia.

Click here to see if you have the Flash Player installed.

Macromedia Shockwave Player
This software enables your computer to correctly display sites that contain Shockwave content.

Click here, then click Install to see if you have it.

Mozilla Firefox

This is the best free web browser available. Its better than Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Opera, etc. Get it. Use it always except when a particular web browser requires Internet Explorer in order to work properly. Full Disclosure: We get $1 if you click the logo above to get this excellent product.

MusicMatch Jukebox
This software plays audio CDs, .MP3 files and other audio formats. It also has many other features for working with audio and can DJ for you.

Opera
This free web browser is better than Microsoft Internet Explorer in a number of ways. No need to get rid of IE. Sometimes, like at many banking sites, IE is all that will work. So use Opera the rest of the time and put an end to lots of adware and spyware and other browser attacks. The Internet Engineering Task Force recommended months ago to move away from Internet Explorer. This is an excellent alternative.

Pdf995
Enables you to create files in your word processor and then save them as .PDF files - free.

Sophos Anti-Rootkit
Eliminates hidden applications and processes.

WinZip
This utility compresses files to make them smaller and uncompresses zipped files so that you can use them. Smaller files travel faster across the Internet.

To see if WinZip is installed, click Start, Programs and look for a WinZip folder.

Sources of free software:

We do not endorse the sites listed below but we have never had problems with software downloaded from them either.

Download.com
Various free and eval programs. If you like a program, you can buy it.

Tucows
Various types of free and eval programs. If you like a program, you can buy it.

SourceForge
Large site of open-source software. Open source software is usually totally free. Linux is the flagship of the open-source software movement.

Freebyte
A site that has nothing but free software.

MovieCodec.com
A site offering video codecs so you can view videos you have downloaded.

Divx-Digest
Move about movie codecs including free open-source codecs.

Free Software Tutorial

Lots of free software is available on the Internet but a lot of that free software is something you should eliminate from your computer because it reports what you do on your computer, turns your computer into an advertising machine or does other undesirable things.

Unless you have already taken steps to eliminate bad free software from your computer, you most likely have it on your machine.

Known as malware, you don't want software that:

• spies on you
• reports your activities to its headquarters
• harvests information from your computer
• turns your computer into a spam machine
• sends viruses to people with your name on it..

Free software is being used like candy:

If a stranger offered you a piece of candy, would you just put it in your mouth?

Of course not.

So don't just accept free software and let it install itself on your computer. On the Internet, you could be dealing with anyone, anywhere in the world. At least with the candy you can see who is giving it to you.

The key to knowing how to get good free software while avoiding all the junk is a matter of knowledge and using good judgement.

Those little windows that popup when you visit a web site saying in order to view the site correctly, you need this program and here it is -- these should almost never be accepted.

Free software is like candy.

It all looks good. But depending on the intent of the giver, it could contain very costly surprises.

Your computers and network are being fed:

• Applications you buy and install
• Software downloaded from the Internet
• Software that others bring into your office
• Cookies from many web sites
• Spyware, adware, data mining, etc.

Don't let anyone feed your business bad candy:

• You need a plan
• You make the decisions
• Formal policies are rules to follow
• A formal plan forms the foundation
• Basic user training is your front-line defense

Free lunch? There's no free software either...

• There is usually a catch with free software
• All software on your computer uses resources
• Time spent on download, install, configure
• Time to learn program to use it well
• If abandoned, time to uninstall it
• Could cause other problems
• Could give you a virus

Bad free software you don't want:

Spyware - It installs and tracks your Internet activity.

Slyware - Tricks people into installing it. Seems innocent and it works. May report your activities. May turn your computer into an advertisement machine - ads pop up before you get to a site you want to see. It seems like the site that you are trying to visit is feeding you the ads... they're not. How much sense would that make?

Warez - Illegal copies of commercial software available for downloading. Illegal and no control over what you are getting.

Once installed, bad software can easily:

• Report your habits
• Pop-up ads they "think" you want
• Dial calls that appear on your phone bill
• Follow you and report your whereabouts
• Cause problems that cost money to fix
• Destroy the data on your systems
• Do whatever they think of next...

Free software you may find useful:

• Adware
  Its free. Get over the advertising.
• Liteware
  Free "lite" version. Pay for full version.
• Nagware
  Try it free for a time period. Then get nagged until you buy it or uninstall it.
• Open Source
  Free and modifiable to fit needs
• Public Domain
  Free but very little, if any, support
• Shareware
  Try it. If you like it, buy it on the honor system.
• Trialware
  Dies after 30-90 days. If you like it, buy a license that brings it back to life.

Some free software (open-source) is the best in its class and is available for the taking. Other free software is junk and isn't worth your time or system resources.

If you want some professional help sorting all of it out in the most expeditious and effective manner, contact me.