Each piece of software is rated for ease of use, and features. The scale is 1-10 with 10 being highest/hardest and 1 being lowest/easiest. In nearly all cases I’ve summarized the features and left a direct link to the page containing the feature list. In the cases where the word “features” is not a link it means the features are listed somewhere on the home page which I linked too when I gave teh name of the product. Also every piece of software on this list is something I use and more often than not encourage my clients to use as well.

Finally please understand this list is just that, a list. It is not designed to teach you how to use the software only to point you in the general direction where you can get more appropriate information regarding the software.

Email

Thunderbird

Thunderbird is a free Email client from the makers of Firefox. It features:

• Advanced Folder Views
• Message Tagging
• Message History Navigation
• Improved Search
• Phishing Protection
• Junk Mail/Spam protection
• Automated Update
• Message Templates
• Add-ons Manager for Extensions and Themes

Ease of use: 3
Features: 8

Web Browser

Firefox

Firefox is a free fully functional alternative to Windows Internet Explorer. It features:

• Tabbed Browsing
• Spell Checking
• Search Suggestions
• Session Restore
• Web Feeds (RSS)
• Live Titles
• Integrated Search
• Live Bookmarks
• Pop-up Blocker
• Protection from Spyware

Ease of use:2
Features:9

General Cleanup

CCleaner

CCleaner removes temporary files from your system allowing Windows to operate much better. It features:

• Cleans Internet Explore temp files, cache, cookies, URL history, etc
• Cleans Firefox file cache, cookies, url history, etc
• Empties recycle bin
• Clears the clipboard
• Clears Windows log file
• Removes Memory dumps
• Removes Chksdsk files fragments
• Registry cleaner
• And much more…

Ease of use: 4
Features: 7

Anti-virus

Avast anti-virus

Avast is a free anti-virus solution. It features:

• Advanced detection kernel
• Simple User Interface
• Standard resident protection
• P2P and IM Shields
• Network Shield
• Web Shield
• Automatic updates
• Virus Chest
• System Integration
• Integrated avast! Virus Cleaner
• Support for 64-bit Windows

Ease of use: 6
Features:9

Parental Control Software

K9 Web Protection

K9 Web Protection is a software solution designed to keep kids off of sites they shouldn’t be on. It features:

• Service-based filtering
• Dynamic Real-Time Ratingâ„¢ (DRTR)
• Automatic updating
• Efficient caching
• More than 55 distinct categories of content

Ease of use: 6
Features: 7

Drive Emulation software

Alcohol 52%

Alcohol 52 allows you to emulate CD drives via software. It features:

• Create a virtual CD to play in the emulated drive
• Run software and games at over 200x the speed of conventional drives
• Create up to 6 virtual (emulated drives) at once
• Write to 2 virtual drives at once
• No need to use physical discs and put them at risk

Ease of use: 8
Features: 9

Compression

7-Zip

7-Zip is a file (de)compression utility. It features:

• High compression ratio
• Support for multiple formats
• Self-extracting capability for 7z format
• Integration with Windows Shell
• Powerful File Manager
• Powerful command line version
• Plugin for FAR Manager
• Localizations for 63 languages

Ease of use: 3
Features: 9

Torrent and peer-to-peer

Bit Comet

Bit Comet is a free, open source bit torrent clone for downloading large files. It features:

• Exchange torrent while downloading
• Preview while Downloading
• Intelligent Connection Optimization
• Intelligent Disk Cache
• Quick Resume
• P2P downloading
• Intelligent File Rename
• Global and Per-Task Speed Limit, for Both Upload and Download
• Bandwidth Scheduler
• Categories Management

Ease of use: 4
Features: 8

Limewire

Limewire is a peer-to-peer file sharing program. It features:

• Bittorrent Support Built-In
• Shared folder control
• System Tray Notifications
• Mojito DHT (Distributed Hash Table) Support
• TLS (Transport Layer Security) Support
• NO BUNDLED SOFTWARE OF ANY KIND!
• Firewall to Firewall Transfers
• iTunes Integration.
• Proxy support.

Ease of use: 3
Features: 7

FTP

FileZilla

FileZilla is a free FTP (file transfere protocol) program. It features:

• Supports FTP, FTP over SSL/TLS (FTPS) and SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP)
• Cross Platform
• Supports resume
• Transfer of large files >4GB<
• Drag & drop support
• Configurable Speed limits
• Filename filters
• Network configuration wizard

Ease of use: 3
Features: 8

Image viewing and creation

Irfanview

Irfanview is an image viewer program. It features:

• Many supported file formats 
• Multi language support
• Thumbnail/preview option
• Paint option - to draw lines, circles, arrows, straighten image etc
• Toolbar skins option
• Slideshow
• Show EXIF/IPTC/Comment text in Slideshow/Fullscreen etc
• Support for Adobe Photoshop Filters
• Fast directory view
• Batch conversion
• Multipage TIF editing
• File search
• Email option
• Change color depth
• Extract icons from EXE/DLL/ICLs
• Lossless JPG rotation
• and much more…

I will refrain from giving my opinion on Ease of use and features for this product as I have nothing to compare it to and have only had a real need for it a few times.

Paint.Net

Paint.Net is a free image creation and manipulation program. It features:

• Simple, intuitive, and innovative user interface
• Layers
• Active Online Community
• Frequently Updated
• Special Effects
• Powerful Tools
• Unlimited History
• Open Source and Free

Ease of use: 3
Features: 8

Anti-spyware

Super Anti-spyware

Super Anti-Spyware is a *ware scanning solution. It features:

Please note that some of the features listed here are only available on the pro versions.
• Quick, Complete and Custom Scanning
• Detect and Remove
• Trust Items and Exclude Folders
• Repair broken Internet Connections
• First Chance Prevention
• Real-Time Blocking
• Registry Protection
• Schedule
• Auto-Scanning
• Automatic Updates
• Daily Definition Updates
• Free System Diagnostic
• Free E-Mail Support

Ease of use: 2
Features: 7

Instant Messaging

Trillian

Trillian is an IM platform that supports multiple instances of messages being sent and received. It features:

• Unification of multiple IM platforms
• Video Chat
• Audio Chat
• Time Travel
• Activity history
• Instant lookup
• Contact list
• Message window
• Serverless IM
• Skinnable
• Plugin support
• Customizable

Ease of use: 2
Features: 8

Audio tools

Winamp

Winamp is a lightweight audio front-end. It features:

• Remote Music and Video Playback and Sharing
• Dynamic Song Recommendations Playlist Feature
• Multi-channel MP3 Surround Support
• Fully Integrated Web browser and customizable links
• Rips CDs to MP3
• Portable Device Sync support
• Expanded Podcast Directory
• Compatible with Winamp 2 Plug-ins
• Full Support for Modern Skins

Ease of use: 2
Features: 8

Audacity

Audactiy is a sound manipulation tool for effects, filter, splicing, etc, etc, etc. It features:

• Record from microphone, line input, or other sources.
• Create multi-track recordings
• Record up to 16 channels at once
• Monitor volume levels before, during, and after recording
• Import and export WAV, AIFF, AU, and Ogg Vorbis files
• Import MPEG audio
• Export MP3s with the optional LAME encoder library
• Easy editing with Cut, Copy, Paste, and Delete
• Remove static, hiss, hum, or other constant background noises
• Record and edit 16-bit, 24-bit, and 32-bit
• Record at up to 96 KHz.

Ease of use: 5
Featues: 7

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