Freeware – for free

01-09-2010 | Alan Royal

I use lots of freeware.

What is freeware, how do you assess it, where do you find it? I will answer these questions.

Freeware is gratis. Usually an enthusiast makes it. Types are "open source" (where the code is available), donation ware, nagware, baitware (free and pro versions), cloudware (Google Docs and Microsoft Web Apps), old versions (oldversions.com) of software and "abandonware" (where the author has walked away from any further support).

Freeware includes systems (Google Chrome OS and Ubuntu and derivatives).

In assessing the value of freeware, note that for every paid version of software there is an equally good free version, but there are good free versions and bad free versions. The best way to decide is to look at independent reviews. Be careful, though, that the manufacturer does not stack the reviews.

Some software has a malware "payload" so make sure you do a malware check on each download (beware of gifts from friends that you have not checked for malware). Watch file size and source (use Web of Trust software check). Check that there is not an attempt to sell you freeware. Examples include baitware advertisements that encourage you to buy a paid version of freeware.

To find freeware, use the terms like freeware xxx in Google, where xxx is either the name of the software (if known) or the function you expect it to perform. Preferably download from the host site or a "mirror" recommended by the host. Still take care!

As noted above, not all software needs to be downloaded. It can be cloudware. Examples are Google Docs and Microsoft WebApps.

Freeware may also include free books (ebooks), music and videos.

Good sources of freeware and reviews are newsletters such as:

• Gizmo's Freeware at http://www.techsupportalert.com/

• makeuseof.com at http://www.makeuseof.com/

• Windows Secrets at http://www.windowssecrets.com/ (free and paid version)

• Information Avenue (Cloudeight) at http://thundercloud.net/infoave/ (free and paid version).

Some "essentialfreeware" includes:

• CCleaner http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner, for cleaning your PC

• Advanced System Care Free http://goo.gl/ibOM, a one-click approach to help protect, repair, clean, and optimise your PC

• Revo Uninstaller Free http://goo.gl/Z1R1, uninstalls software.

• Speccy http://www.piriform.com/speccy is good for monitoring computer temperatures

• Malwarebytes http://www.malwarebytes.org/ can identify and remove malicious software from your computer

• SUPERAntiSpyware http://www.superantispyware.com/ detects Spyware, Adware and Malware, Trojans, Dialers, Worms, KeyLoggers, HiJackers, Parasites, Rootkits

• Sumatra PDF http://goo.gl/9JgB is a slim, free, open-source PDF viewer for Windows

• FastStone Image Viewer http://www.faststone.org/ An image browser, converter and editor that supports all major graphic formats including BMP, JPEG, JPEG 2000, GIF, PNG, PCX, TIFF, WMF, ICO and TGA. It has a nice array of features such as image viewing, management, comparison, red-eye removal, emailing, resizing, cropping, colour adjustments, musical slideshow and much more

• Paragon Backup & Recovery Free Edition http://goo.gl/ua5P restores your computer to an earlier state without losing data and reinstalling and reconfiguring your programs

• Ashampoo Burning Studio Free http://goo.gl/vVzu is the complete and simple burning programme for CD/DVD and BluRay

• Xmarks http://www.xmarks.com/ f or the backup online of your favourites or bookmarks

• VLC Media Player http://www.videolan.org/vlc/ the media player that fills all your needs. It can handle DVDs (S)VCDs, Audio CDs, web streams, TV cards and much more.

There are many free "converters" available online to convert files from one type to another. One example is Zamzar http://www.zamzar.com/ described as an online file conversion, covering a wide range of different image, document, music, video and compression formats.

Send an email to Alan Royal at a.royal@paradise.net.nz if you would like a copy of this article, with hyperlinks enabled.

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