Alright, we all know that computers come with a wonderful lack of the useful software we pretty much can’t live without. I’m talking about stuff like Anti-virus and Firewalls, Photo and Video Editing, and Word Processing and Spreadsheets. Sometime, somewhere, you are going to be staring at your computer wishing you had the money for these things…or you knew about the free ones. That’s where I come to the rescue!

I’ll break down the different free options out there according to type and we’ll make sure you get the right one for your operating system (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux). Only thing we won’t cover is what version of linux (Debian or Red Hat based) because I’m not that into linux.

We will cover this in three different posts. One post will be for the necessities. I’m sorry to have to say this, but this will be for Windows users only. Mac and Linux are based on Unix and have far less vulnerability. Don’t worry, we will pick up Linux and Mac users as we continue on our journey of free software.

Second post is all about internet-centered programs (IM Clients, Browsers, etc.) and we will cover the best of the best because everyone knows there are just WAY too many programs to download online.

The third post will be about productivity software. This covers everything from word processors to video editing software. This one is being saved for last because it has the most information and the most requested info I have ever been asked.

Well, on to the first post–

Fair warning, some are replacements for stuff you would have to pay for while others do the same thing as other free software, but they are better in some way or another (at least in my not-so-humble opinion).

Ok, first up is Anti-Virus Protection:

AVG Anti-Virus – This is a completely free anti-virus that I have used for years on all of our PCs. My parents have a home business that requires a computer for each of them and this is what they use. It is updated regularly with the fixes for the latest viruses (most times sooner than the anti-virus software you have to pay for) and doesn’t bog down your system. It checks all e-mail coming in if you used Outlook Express and Firebird (don’t worry, we will cover this one too).

There are other free Anti-virus options out there, but I think this is the best.

OS Compatibility: This is for Windows PCs only. They do have one for Linux, but Linux users don’t need it.

Firewall:

ZoneAlarm – ZoneAlarm is a free firewall that does a really good job of detecting most of your software that will be connecting with the internet. Its user interface makes sense with the features bundled under tabs that are logical choices for the features they cover.

This is another one that I have used for years and I trust explicitly. ZoneAlarm produces a professional version with all sorts of stuff added in, most of which regular users don’t need.

OS Compatibility: Again, Windows Computers would use this because Unix based systems have a firewall built-in.

Anti-Spyware:

Spyware Defender – Yes, Microsoft has gotten into this one and has done a decent job. If you do have this installed, I would still suggest you have the next one to catch any strays.

Spybot Search & Destroy – I would say this would be the defacto Spyware removal tool. Best thing is to never get it in the first place.

Spyware Blaster – This tool actually prevents Spyware from getting on your system. If you are redoing your system, put this one on there first and you may not need the other two.

OS Compatibility: These are for Windows PCs also. There is dramatically less Spyware for Mac and Linux and you would have downloaded it and installed it yourself for that to happen.

As was mentioned before, this is just number one of what is looking more and more like a three parter. Believe me, you don’t want to miss it.

Got any suggestions for the next two posts? Think I missed one awesome piece of software and it really needs to be added? Well, what are you waiting for? COMMENT!