Free Software List for Vista

[cpemma]

QTTabBar

One I found and really like is a Vista-specific Explorer extension that adds various useful buttons - up-a-level arrow like XP, new window, tabbed folders (speedy copy/move) and a History list of recently-viewed folders. Really should be standard.

 

[cpemma]

11. Comodo Firewall Pro - http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/download_firewall.html
This is an alternative firewall program instead of using Windows Firewall. It is far better in my opinion.

I agree, but be aware it clashes with Kasperky AV; the workround is to install KAV first, and turn off Defence+ in Comodo and Kaspersky's Scan HTTP traffic.

(I think they're overlapping modules so you lose nothing AFAIK.)

 

[Owned]

I want to note that Virtual PC 2007 does work on all versions of the Vista operating system, however, Microsoft only supports Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate.

 

[cpemma]

VistaTweaker, spotted on this list of free Vista goodies, gives a simple tick-box GUI to do many of the registry changes covered in the Tutorials here and elsewhere without delving through Vista menus or firing up Regedit.

XDN Tweaker looks similar, also free (donationware).

They seem to have more features than the free but heavily cut-down version of the commercial TweakVI program.

 

[Brink]

Hi cpemma,

Yeah Vista Tweaker looked like it would be great, but I could not get most of the options to work in the 64 bit Vista Ultimate. I can only assume that it may only work on the 32 bit Vista instead for now.

Shawn

 

[twoteles]

Excellent list and saved to my favourites.

Nice to know that you have listed programmes I am already using and trust - such as avast! CCleaner, Foxit Reader and IrFanView.

 

[Brink]

Your welcome twoteles. If you have any great free ones that are not listed, then please feel free to share with the rest of us to.

Thank you,
Shawn

 

[twoteles]

Brink/Shawn

Maybe you would like to consider the following:

One handy little programme that I have used, from time to time, is PhotoFiltre.

Downloads

For those people who can't afford to pay for the upmarket Photo Programmes, this piece of Software is worth looking at.

One feature I use quite often (which I can't seem to find on many other photographic programmes) is its image>rotate>free which allows you to adjust photographs from 1 degree to 45 or 90. It's ideal for the amateur photographers among us who can't seem to take a level pic and then want to straighten it up for a website!

With a one button click, you can also have your colour photograph turned into Old photography or Grayscale!

Or, for those who are searching for Gifs with a difference, and totally free, may I suggest:

Free animated gifs - gif animations - free gifs - US election gifs

Cheers,

Two!

 

[Brink]

twoteles,

That's a nice one. It has been added to the list.

Thank you,
Shawn

 

[bobbavet]

Xillisoft - (Trial version only) video convertor, video editor, dvd ripper. Very similar if not copy of Imtoo software and is working.

Am after DVD burning software similar to NERO. Nero no work on my 64 8(

 

[cpemma]

USB Disk Ejector.

Nothing clever, just a handy icon for the desktop, click twice to "safely remove hardware" as Windows puts it for pendrives, MP3 players, etc, plugged into a USB port. Saves a few seconds, various switches.

 

[d3ridinghigh]

A really impressive list! Nice work!

 

[glob]

If you haven't taken to the new Backup software in Windows Vista and want something more traditional where you can actually choose the specific files and folders you want to backup then this piece of software is perfect ... and free

AceBackup: The free Backup Software

I especially like the backup approach where it copies (compresses and encrypts) the files you want backed up and can be set to only refresh the files in the backup that have changed.

Edit - 10th June, 2008 - started having a few problems with this program. For some reason it started to ignore files and give some strange errors. I think things got corrupted. I now use Cobian Backup 9.

 

[cpemma]

CutePDF Writer
My old JawsPDF Creator has been playing up in Vista, tried the free Cute one and it worked out of the tin. Claimed Vista 32/64 compat, I can only speak for 32.

 

[twoteles]

Staying with PDF I also believe that this site is worth a look:

Foxit Software

Certainly does not take up as much space as Adobe Reader and, in my mind, is a lot faster.

 

[ree1]

I'm the new guy in the community and I am surprized that no one has mentioned the still incredible Proxomitron

 

[jphoto]

Some really important omissions here, as I think some of these are possibly the best freeware in their field(s).

Avira AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic - freeware antivirus, better then AVG and Avast (not knocking them, but they're "good for being free" which isn't quite as good as the paid ones), but the catch is, once per day it'll display a nag screen as it updates itself. Well worth it for better protection, imo. Using it right now on Vista x64 Ultimate.

CDBurnerXP - CD / DVD burning software. One of the rare free programs that looks and feels as richly made as the better paid ones. I dropped Nero for this a couple of years ago, and it works great in Vista x64 (runs on .Net framework which you must install first, if you don't already have it).

xplorer2 - file manager / windows explorer replacement - two-pane FTP-style file management.

FastStone Image Viewer - Remember the old ACDSee before it became huge and bloated, and when you still loved it? This is just like that.

FileZilla - The most well-rounded (free) FTP client for Vista that I know of. There's a 64-bit one in the works, I hear, but this works fine as-is on Vista x64.

Gadwin PrintScreen - if SnagIt was free also, I'd still like Gadwin's better. A very elegant program that will make people actually use the Print Screen button again!

Recuva - undelete software from the same folks as CCleaner. I've used it and it works nicely.

Exact Audio Copy - the mother of all CD-rippers works great in Vista x64 (you'll have to download the LAME encoder to plug into it, also, if it's not already on your drive somewhere).

Trillian Basic - Multi-client instant messanger that connects to AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo Messenger, and IRC. Skinnable too.

VideoLAN (or VLC) - Lots of people swear by this so I included it, but it's only 2ed favorite video player. See...

Combined Community Codec Pack (or CCCP) - imo the best video player (media player classic) + codec pack available, but that's just me. Try them both.

That's pretty much it for now.

VideoSpin - I'm a noob at video editing, but basically, from what I understand, this is the "easy one" and VirtualDub is the more advanced one. Again, this is not my area of knowledge...I do simple edits of .avi files from our digital camera and that's it. Maybe a real video editing geek can add something to this and correct me if needed.

Enjoy.

 

[cpemma]

FastStone Image Viewer...

FileZilla - The most well-rounded (free) FTP client for Vista that I know of.

The Faststone Capture program is worth having as it can capture images larger than the screen;

It allows you to capture anything on the screen including windows, objects, menus, full screen, rectangular / freehand regions and scrolling windows / web pages.

version 5.3 linked is free for non-commercial use but the latest version 6 is $20 shareware.

For FTP I've found WinSCP very good. Although designed for high security it can be set to plain FTP for hosts not supporting the default SFTP. I like the way I can right-click on a file and 'Send To' my webspace.

I'll try CDBurnerXP, I'm getting cheesed off with Nero 7's insistence on installing stuff that tries to run at start-up (Scout) plus I'm not paying for a vast suite of second-rate bloat in Nero 8.

 

[.Joe]

Shawn,

Fantastic list. Have already downloaded and installed several tools. Many thanks

 

[hawkwind]

Returnil Virtual System 2008 Personal Edition v2.0

This is one program that i consider a must have on my systems.
A re-boot and all changes made to the OS are gone

Product Description
***************************************************************************
The Returnil Virtual System Premium Edition is a powerful virtualization technology that completely mirrors your actual computer setup and it can create a virtual storage disk within your PC where you can save documents, data, and files while using the System Protection feature.
The security of computers connected to the Internet remains a problem. Despite the efforts of major Anti-malware companies, a high proportion of computer infections remain undetected, Internet crime continues to grow and new malware is being discovered at the rate of many tens of thousands of items per day. The situation is getting worse, proving that existing security technologies, whilst useful, are inadequate.
Even if you have a properly configured Firewall, an updated and frequently used Anti-Virus, practice safe surfing, never open attachments or click unfamiliar links, you will still likely become infected. Why? Because Anti-virus and Anti-spyware scanners are not able to cope with the enormous volume of new malware; estimated by recent surveys to be more than 30,000 new items appearing each day.

The Returnil Virtual System provides an altogether different and highly complimentary level of defense. It is designed to protect your computer from all types of software, downloads, websites or anything else that might harbor viruses, spyware and other malicious programs. How does it achieve this?

Returnil virtualization technology clones a computer’s System Partition and boots the PC into this system rather than native Windows, allowing you run your applications in a completely isolated environment. Hence the session and all activity, malicious or otherwise, will happen in the virtual environment, not in the real PC environment. If the PC is attacked or gets infected, all you need to do is to simply reboot the PC to erase all changes. After reboot, the system will be restored to its original state, as if nothing ever happened. All of this without sacrificing computer performance or usability while helping to reduce technical support intervention and the need for routine maintenance.
Layered security needs a stable base to be effective, and like your favorite chair, it simply will not stand on two legs. The Returnil Virtual System provides the third and arguably most important part of a true layered approach, the cure! Stop the endless, performance hogging cycle of filtering, detection, and removal. You can finally sit comfortably and start enjoying your computer.
Features
***************************************************************************
The Returnil Virtual System:
> Keeps your System Partition safe when browsing the Internet
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> Offers stronger, simpler and smarter protection for your PC
> Seamless integration with supported Windows Operating Systems
> Easy to use, simple to configure, and the one tool in your arsenal that will be there to save the day when all else fails!