Fifty Freeware Favourites

	Ad-aware Essential adware/spyware removal utility.
	Has been sliding towards not-quite-freeware status for some time and other apps do it better now.

	Agnitum Outpost Firewall Freeware Firewall
	I haven't used this in years. I tried Comodo and then plumped for Online Armor. Seems like the free firewall world is fast changing.

	AVG Antivirus Suite Anti-virus Suite
	I now use Avira AntiVir Personal instead.

	Basilisk II 68k Mac Emulator for PC
	Obsolete now. Mac emulation has gone beyond this.

	Batch Run Batch file creator.
	Still a good program - I just don't use it much myself.

	BigFix Checks all your software and security is up-to-date. MUST HAVE
	Stopped working some time ago, particularly after Microsoft started making the world safer by making updates that much harder to get!

	Cacheman Optimises system performance by tweaking cache settings.
	Cacheman has no disabled features and no time limit. If you really cannot afford the shareware fee you are allowed to use Cacheman as Freeware.

	CacheSentry IE cache cleaner
	Only useful if you use Internet Explorer a lot - but why do that when you can get a decent browser called Firefox?

	Close IE Close IE windows.
	Only useful if you use Internet Explorer a lot - but why do that when you can get a decent browser called Firefox?

	Crazy Browser Tabbed interface for IE.
	It's based on Internet Explorer - so why use this when you can get a decent browser called Firefox?

	DBxtract Outlook E-mail extractor.
	Only useful if you use Outlook Express a lot - but why do that when you can get a decent email client called Thunderbird?

	Diskeeper Lite Fast defragger.
	I can't actually remember when I last bothered defragging… They's so cheap now, just buy a new and bigger hard drive!

	Editpad Lite Notepad replacement
	Still a good program - I just don't use it much myself.

	Email Remover Checks email headers
	I've stopped using this and now use Mailwasher although Email Remover is a smaller download and is genuine freeware.

	Faber Toys Task manager and more.
	Still a good program - I just don't use it much myself.

	Freedom of Association Control file associations
	Impossible to find since PCMag went over to subscriptionware.

	FreePDF Create .pdfs for free
	I stopped using this years ago - there are now a lot of better free pdf tools to be found

	Fresh Download Download Manager
	I've stopped using this and now use Flashget.

	HJSplit X-platform file splitter
	Still a good program - I just don't use it much myself.

	Hostess Hosts file manager
	Still a good program - I just don't use it much myself.

	HTML-Kit HTML editor & validator.
	Still a good program - I just don't use it much myself.

	Icofolder Changes folder icons
	Still a good program - I just don't use it much myself.

	IEBooster IE5+ enhancer
	Only useful if you use Internet Explorer a lot - but why do that when you can get a decent browser called Firefox?

	IEradicator Uninstall Internet Explorer
	Removing Internet Explorer is a good idea IN THEORY but in practise too many websites break without it.

	More Properties Settings tweaker.
	NO LONGER SUPPORTED BY AUTHOR. I've stopped using this and now use Xteq Systems X-Setup.

	Mp3 Tag Tools Mp3 Tag Editor
	Still a good program - I just don't use it much myself.

	Net Launch Dial-up Scheduler
	NO LONGER SUPPORTED BY AUTHOR.

	Off by One Small web browser
	Still a good program - I just don't use it much myself.

	Power Archiver Everything to do with Zips and stuff
	Hasn't been freeware for ages. For a genuine freeware archiver try Izarc

	Process Viewer Read your computer's mind, kill bad processes and more...
	Still useful, but replaced in my top 50 by AnVir Task Manager Free

	Proxomitron Internet filter
	Removing Internet Explorer is a good idea IN THEORY but in practise too many websites break without it.

	Q-Sort 2000 Sorts Start menu and Favorites
	NOW SHAREWARE. Still a good program - I just don't use it myself.

	Rambooster Memory manager
	I hardly use this anymore, so it dropped out of my top 50

	Regcleaner Removes all traces of apps from your registry
	This has now evolved into jv16 PowerTools and become SHAREWARE.

	Script Sentry Monitors behaviour of scripts.
	Haven't used this for ages - don't know if it's relevant anymore.

	SequoiaView See your hard drive usage graphically
	Replaced by WinDirStat, which does the same and more.

	SoftCAT Catalogues all the software you have installed
	Haven't used this for ages. Seems to have become SHAREWARE.

	Spy Guru Monitors system activity.
	NOW SHAREWARE. Still a good program - I just don't use it myself.

	SurfinGuard Finjan SurfinShield is a comprehensive script monitor.
	I found I didn't get on with this and I deactivated it after a while. Maybe I didn't try hard enough...

	Tick Versatile dial-up utility
	I don't do dial up anymore - but I gather this one's still going.

	TraySaver System tray management utility
	Can't remember when I last needed this.

	Write All Stored Passwords Password revealer
	I prefer Snadboy's Revelation

	WinHTTrack Off-line browser
	I've now stopped using this, as Webreaper is freeware again.

	WinTidy Saves and restores desktop icon positions
	Not compatible with XP SP2

	XCavate ActiveX diagnostic tool
	Still a good program - I just don't use it much myself.

	Zonealarm Popular and effective free firewall
	I haven't used this in years. I tried Agnitum, then Comodo and then plumped for Online Armor. Seems like the free firewall world is fast changing.

FIFTY FREEWARE FAVOURITES - PLEASE NOTE:

This is not a guide to ALL freeware - it's just my way of saying "thank you" to the authors of the free programs which I have found useful and a single handy online link for me to give to my friends. Obvious ommissions probably mean that I myself use a commercial app for the relevant task, although with the last overhaul of this page I have included a couple of apps which I don't actually use but have often recommended (Open Office for example). All of these programs are good at what they do - my star-system is not meant to be an obective rating of intrinsic program quality but a much more subjective measure of how useful the app is based on how much I use it. FINALLY - if you've read this far - please don't contact me for support or any other reason with regards these freeware recommendations - take them in the spirit they are offered, which is free. :-)

FIFTY FREEWARE FAVOURITES - A GENERAL NOTE

Please Don't Contact Me...

About any app NO LONGER in my 50 Favourites... I simply don't want to know...

For help... Please don't contact ME for help using any program. I only recommend it, I don't (and can't) offer a free support service for every program I recommend.
What you can do for yourself is...if you have any problems with anything I've recommended, contact the author of the program, or Google it.

Re: broken links... Links change. I have stated above the date on which I last checked the links. When I next update this section I'll check all the links again. So please don't contact me if the links don't work - I'll find out eventually.
What you can do for yourself is... if the links I give are broken, try searching for the program using Google or FileMirrors - that's what I'd do!

Re: it's not freeware! All of the programs I recommend in this section are 'free' in the sense that they were at one time distributed as fully functional software with no payment required for their continued use. However... some software companies withdraw their freeware, or offer programs as freeware for a short period before 'upgrading' them to shareware. So please don't contact ME to say any program I recommend is no longer freeware. I'll find out when I next update.
What you can do for yourself is... search the net... As I understand it, if you can find the original freeware distribution, and it still works, there's nothing to prevent you from legitimately using it. You could try the Last Freeware Version or OldVersion.com.