Freeware-Antivirus.com
This site offers a good roundup of freeware programs to keep your PC safe and secure against the various hazards that lurk in cyberspace these days, including spyware, viruses, spam, and more.
Free-Antivirus.info
This popular site offers a roundup of detailed reviews of free anti-virus programs and services. The site also takes a look at anti-spyware and firewall software.
AntiSpyWeb.com
This site offers reviews and ratings of free programs to keep your computer safe from viruses, spyware, and other online threats. The site also includes a helpful FAQ, as well as articles about protecting yourself in cyberspace.
SecureIT Free
An easy-to-use, free "Internet security suite" that gives you protection against viruses, spyware and other online threats. SecureIT offers real-time virus protection and includes free updates, a firewall, and more. (For Windows).
Freeware Protection
Looking to protect your PC? At this site, you'll find a searchable directory of freeware anti-virus and anti-spyware programs.
Scan Complete
This site offers a roundup of freeware anti-virus and anti-spyware programs. You'll also find freeware programs to help you battle spam, as well as remove adware from your computer.
PC Security Test
How secure is your computer? This freeware program checks your computer's security against viruses, spyware and hackers and grades the effectiveness of your protection software (including anti-virus programs, spyware scanners, and firewalls). (For Windows).
Trend Micro HouseCall
A free Web-based anti-virus tool that lets you scan your PC for viruses, spyware, worms and other digital threats. The program then displays a list of any infected files it finds and allows you to remove them from your computer.
AVG Free Edition
Here's an outstanding freeware anti-virus utility that also offers you free monthly updates. An easy-to-use program, AVG features resident protection, an E-mail scanner and automatic healing of infected files. Note: this program is free for personal, home usage only. (For Windows).
AntiVir Personal Edition
This easy-to-use freeware antivirus utility detects over 80,000 viruses and includes a resident monitor and desktop program. Scans for DOS, Windows, macros and Java viruses. Available in German and English. (For Windows).
FreeJavaChat.com
Here, you can get a free, customized chat room for your Web site. FreeJavaChat.com offers Java-based chat rooms that include a feature-rich IRC-compliant Web interface. A big plus for this service is that it displays no ads.
Uzoom.com
This is the only site we've seen where you can get a full business chat software package for free. Uzoom lets you chat live with your customers in real time. You can also track customers on your site, track your referrals, and more.
MagChat
A fun freeware chat program that is easy to use. MagChat lets you swap audio clips and files with other users and includes lots of features, such as displaying news headlines and stock quotes. (For Windows).
CyberNet Worlds
Immerse yourself in the fascinating world of 3D chat with CyberNet Worlds' free 3D chat browser. Here, you can roam around various colorful 3D landscapes, chatting with users from around the world and build your own virtual home. The CyberNet community also stages social events, parties and contests. (For Windows).
Trillian Basic
Are you tired of having an instant messaging program that always seems to be incompatible with the ones your friends use? Trillian Basic is an outstanding freeware program that allows you to access any of the Web's five major instant-messaging services: AIM, ICQ, MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger and IRC. This new version adds useful features such as 128-bit encryption and group chat. It's free for non-commercial use. (For Windows).
ICQ
A must-have instant messaging and chat program from Israel that ranks as one of the Web's most useful freeware programs. ICQ's features could fill a book but the most important innovation it offers is "awareness" (the ability to determine whether other people are online at a given moment). Available for Windows, Macs and Palms.
Active Worlds
We think that this is one of the coolest freeware programs on the Web. It's a browser that lets you access AlphaWorld, a unique, 3D virtual community populated by real people. The Active Worlds universe boasts thousands of users who you can chat with. You can explore over 100 worlds in real-time, high-color graphics. You can even own land and create buildings on your property, from a simple house to an elaborate palace (a process that is quite easy). (Available for Windows, Macs and Linux).
AOL Instant Messenger
This popular program, once available only to AOL users, is now available to the entire online community. It offers many cool features. It allows you to see who's currently online (like ICQ ) and lets you send quick and private instant messages, as well as pictures. You can also communicate via voice, (provided you have a microphone and speakers). (Available for both Windows and Macs).
QuickChat
(Note: this site is temporarily unavailable). Do you wish you have a better way of interacting with your site's visitors? Do you wish you could run a chat server, but don't know how? Here's an easy solution. With QuickChat, a Java-based chat applet, all you need to do is cut and paste some coding to your page and presto: you have your own chat room. New features include a Trivia Channel, an administrative center and more options for customizing your chat applet.
TICK
Here's a very useful, feature-packed freeware dial-up enhancement utility for Windows. Features extensive logging options and offers a POP3 mail checker, finger, ping, Web notifying tools, a pop-up digital display and loads more goodies. There's also a handy feature to help you keep track of all your passwords. (For Windows).
EasyMTU
Here's a handy freeware utility that speeds up your Net connection by tweaking your TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) settings. (For Windows).
Back2zip
An easy-to-use freeware program that automatically backs up your documents. Back2zip works in the background, constantly monitoring your documents and ensuring that they're properly backed up to ZIP compressed files. (For Windows).
Idlebackup
This is a good freeware program that lets you easily back up and restore your data. Idlebackup can create a backup to a hard disk, a USB drive or a network. It can compress your data to a Zip file and can also be set to create a backup during your computer's idle time. (For Windows).
SafeHouse Personal Privacy
Click the "free download" link to access a free, non-expiring trial version of this popular program that lets you protect and hide your personal files and folders by making them "invisible" and encrypted. Note: the free version of this program lets you encrypt content up to 1 meg in size. (For Windows).
FreeRAM XP Pro
Have you ever noticed that the longer you use Windows in a given session, your PC slows down as you have less memory available? Here's an outstanding, easy-to-use freeware memory "scrubber" utility that frees up and optimizes your PC's memory. (For Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000 and XP).
ScramDisk
Here's a freeware hard drive encryption program that's a must if you have data on your PC that must be kept secure. ScramDisk creates an envelope on your hard drive that can be mounted as a virtual disk when you enter the correct password. All data written to this disk is encrypted and can't be accessed without the password. ScramDisk supports several encryption algorithms, including Blowfish, IDEA and Triple-DES. (For Windows).
Note: ScramDisk has been succeeded by a new program, DriveCrypt, (which is not freeware). However, ScramDisk is still free and available at this site, although it's no longer in development.
Since it was developed in Britain, ScramDisk is not subject to U.S. export law.
DiscoMania
Here's a handy, free, file cataloging utility for hard drives, removable drives and CD-ROMs. Using it, you can create, search, and organize catalogs. Many options available to help give you full control over your files. (For Windows).
Partition Manager
A fine freeware disk partitioning utility. Partition Manager allows you to create and delete partitions, lets you view your hard disks' IDE information and lets you format and resize FAT-16 and FAT-32 files systems. Also offers support for extended DOS partition. Available in English, German, Swedish, Spanish and Russian.
PrimaSoft Disk Analyzer
Take a look under the hood of your computer with this excellent free Windows program that lets you analyze your hard drive. You can easily take a detailed look at a selected hard drive or directory. It offers a summary by files, directories, type, size and date, displays graphs and lets you print reports.
MSGTAG
Have you ever wondered if your E-mail recipients have read your messages yet? An easy-to-use freeware program, MSGTAG alerts you when E-mails you send are opened. MSGTAG works with most E-mail clients, including Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora and Pegasus Mail. (For Windows).
PidMail Spam Filter
Fed up with spam? This free software program blocks spam by forcing would-be spammers to identify themselves. The program uses the concept of keys that you give to your contacts to authorize them (and only them) to send you messages. (For Windows XP Outlook Express; other versions coming soon).
MailWasher
This handy freeware E-mail management program lets you fight back against spammers and E-mail viruses and helps protect your privacy. MailWasher lets you check and manage your E-mails before you download them. You can also use it to bounce E-mails back to spammers, so that it looks as though your E-mail address is no longer valid. (For Windows).
Schmaili
Liven up your E-mail correspondence with this fun, freeware program that lets you easily insert an animated smiley face into your messages with a simple mouse click. There are a wide range of nifty-looking smiley face characters to choose from here. (For Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, IncrediMail, and Netscape Messenger 7.0).
POP Peeper
Having trouble juggling your different E-mail accounts? This nifty freeware utility runs in your Windows task bar and notifies you when you have new E-mail in any of your POP3, Hotmail, MSN or Yahoo accounts. (For Windows).
JB Mail 3.2
Here's a unique, free portable POP3 mail reader and mailbox maintenance utility, that gives you direct access to your POP mailbox. You can view, preview, delete, save, print, and even get attachments directly from your mailbox. As a result, you don't have to go through the hassle of downloading anything that you don't want to your hard drive. Handy, particularly for those who get lots of E-mail. (For Windows).
Outlook Messenger Express
If you're using Microsoft Outlook, then you'll find this freeware utility very helpful. Outlook Messenger Express lets you quickly and easily send a message without going to the hassle of loading the cumbersome Outlook program itself. You can minimize it to the Windows desktop tray when you're not using it, as well. (For Windows).
Hikyaku Japanese E-mailer
Here's a free E-mail client that is capable of displaying Japanese characters on non-Japanese computers. Using Hikyaku, you don't need a commercial character extension program such as KanjiKit or Twinbridge. This is a helpful program for Japanese speakers who are on the road and want to send E-mail from standard PCs. (For Windows).
ePrompter
A useful freeware program, ePrompter is an E-mail retrieval and notification utility that can automatically check up to eight password-protected E-mail accounts for you, including POP3 mail, AOL, Hotmail, Juno, Mail.com and more. ePrompter is easily accessible via a rotating tray icon in your taskbar. (For Windows).
Plaxo
Do you have a tough time keeping your E-mail address book up-to-date? A handy program, Plaxo, which is available in a free beta version, piggybacks onto Microsoft Outlook and provides you with various tools for keeping your contact list current. (For Windows).
Eudora
Our favorite free E-mail program. Eudora offers loads of features, such as the ability to filter your mail and efficiently organize it into folders; multiple signatures; drag & drop capabilities; nicknames and more. We also love its sleek and elegant interface. If you use Eudora, then you need to check out eMailman, which offers a big selection of utilities, tools and plug-ins for getting the most out of Eudora. The only quibble we have with Eudora is its cumbersome search function, which makes it time-consuming to find just the E-mail you're hunting for. (Available for Windows and Macs.)
Eudora's latest version , 7, is a fully featured E-mail client, which is available for free in "sponsored" mode (a version that displays small ads). This powerful new version offers such handy features as automatic name completion, which lets you address E-mails quickly.
Listserv Lite
We've had a number of visitors ask if there are any free mailing list programs available on the Net. Here's one from the makers of the well-known industrial-strength creators of Listserv. The Free Edition is a freeware version of Listserv Lite, limited to a maximum of 10 mailing lists with up to 500 subscribers each. This version is free, as long as the licensee does not derive a profit from using the software. Be sure to read the usage policy.
Pegasus Mail
One of the Net's all-time classic freeware products, Pegasus has a very strong following, and with good reason. It has tons of helpful features, including a spell checker, multiple signatures, checking of multiple mailboxes, etc. However, Pegasus does suffer from a few drawbacks. We find its interface a little clunky and its cut & paste capabilities are limited. If you download Pegasus, then be sure to check out the Guide to Pegasus Mail Add-ons , which is a good collection of enhancement programs for this E-mail client. (Available for Windows and Macs).
FTP Surfer
A good freeware FTP client that features an Internet Explorer-style user interface. Features include multiple server connections, drag-and-drop, smart reconnect for unreliable connections, a favorites menu, and more. (For Windows).
FTP Commander
A basic, easy-to-use freeware FTP client. Offers all the functions of the Web's most popular FTP client, WS_FTP , except that this is unconditionally free. You can delete, rename and copy files, as well as create and delete directories on the FTP server. FTP Commander is freeware; unlike the second FTP client listed here, FTP Navigator, (which is shareware).
BitTorrent
A free, open-source peer-to-peer program, BitTorrent has become a big hit with people looking to rapidly download massive multimedia files (such as movies). What makes BitTorrent unique is that, the more popular a file is, the faster it downloads to your computer (as the program uses every downloader's upstream bandwidth). (For Windows, Mac, and Linux).
AceFTP
One of the Web's most popular freeware FTP clients, this easy-to-use program offers advanced features and gives you the ability to open several FTP sites at once and execute multiple file transfers concurrently. AceFTP resumes broken transfers and lets you preview files with its integrated viewer. (For Windows).
FTP Explorer
(Note: this program is no longer free). Here's a powerful, fully featured FTP client that offers a Windows Explorer-like interface and is easy to use. (For Windows).
DeskFlakes
Looking for a cool desktop enhancement? This site offers a free collection of 3D images that you can use as your Windows desktop wallpaper. DeskFlakes create eye-catching patterns when tiled. Hundreds are available and they can also be dynamically colorized on the site in any of 216 colors.
Free-Internet-TV-Software.net
This free software program lets you access thousands of online TV stations and radio stations from around the world, as well as YouTube videos. The program requires Microsoft's free Windows Media Player. (For Windows Vista, XP, 2000 and 9x).
Error95 Joke Program
This freeware program is a must-have gag for pranksters. Error95 generates customizable fake error messages for Microsoft Windows. Drive your computer buddies crazy! (For Windows).
Schmaili
Liven up your E-mail correspondence with this fun, freeware program that lets you easily insert an animated smiley face into your messages with a simple mouse click. There are a wide range of nifty-looking smiley face characters to choose from here. (For Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, IncrediMail, and Netscape Messenger).
Fake Format
Drive your friends(?) insane with this cruel prank program. Fake Format is a free utility that when executed, gives the appearance that your hard drive is being formated. Your victim will be unable to stop or close this clever, realistic program. It even creates hard drive noise while it is formatting. (For Windows).
Drempels
(Note: this site is occasionally unavailable). This is a quite amazing freeware "desktop enhancer" that transforms your static Windows background into animated, swirling patterns that resemble a hurricane or tornado. You can also run Drempels as a unique, eye-catching screen saver. (For Windows. As of May, 2005, Drempels is open source).
Cursor Fun
Here's a fun, freeware program that randomly changes the appearance of the mouse cursor. It allows you to choose which cursor to change, what type of cursor to change it to, and how often you'd like to swap the cursor. Cursor Fun is great for playing a trick on an unsuspecting user, or for those who get bored easily with their desktop. (For Windows).
Black Screen
This free program will cause your victims' screen to go black or capture the desktop & display a bitmap image. The victim of your prank will then be unable to close the screen without a password. Black Screen can be used as a joke gag or for security purposes. Here's the home page. (For Windows).
DownHoax
This nifty, free prank program makes it realistically appear as though an unwanted file is being downloaded from the Net. DownHoax randomly chooses a site from its internal database of undesirables, and proceeds to simulate downloading an equally distasteful file. Supports both Netscape and Internet Explorer. (For Windows).
Freetoall.info
This site offers two excellent freeware programs. Wallpaper Desktop lets you generate colorful, original patterns for your desktop. A second program here, Grabzilla, lets you easily capture screenshots from your desktop. (For Windows).
Meazure
Have you ever needed to know the dimensions of a window on your screen, or the size of an image? Meazure is a useful freeware screen measurement, magnification and capture tool. It's easy to use and offers loads of features. (For Windows).
IrfanView
(Note: this site is occasionally inaccessible). One of the handiest freeware programs around, this multimedia and graphics viewer can handle any type of file you throw at it: from GIFs to Real Audio to MP3 to Adobe Photoshop files, as well as a lot of obscure formats. (For Windows).
Alice
Are you interested in 3D graphics, but find the whole process too involved and complicated for a novice? Then check out Alice. It's a free 3D "Interactive Graphics Programming Environment." Alice can be used for creating many types of applications, including interactive games, animations and virtual reality environments. It has a moderately steep learning curve. Basically, if you've messed around with BASIC before or built a spreadsheet, you can handle Alice. (For Windows).
POV-Ray
POV-Ray (the Persistence of Vision Raytracer) is a high-quality, free program for creating sophisticated 3-D graphics. Has a steep learning curve, but is worth the time you invest in it, if you're serious about learning about ray-traced graphics. Available for Windows, DOS, Mac and Linux.
ShoeString PictureDicer
This is a freeware tool that chops any image file into several smaller images, suitable for creating mouseover effects and pseudo-imagemaps on Web pages. It also generates the HTML for a table to contain the partial images and display them so they appear as the original uncut image. (For Windows).
Icon Viewer
The only freeware program of its kind, this handy utility lets you view all of the icons on your computer that are contained in an EXE, DLL, ICO or ICL file. You can also compare icon files to determine whether they're identical or not, and search a directory for duplicates of an icon. (For Windows).
Stone's WebWriter
A classic freeware HTML editor, WebWriter is easy for beginners to use and is packed with features that even many commercial programs don't offer. With WebWriter, you can easily edit HTML tags by right-clicking and you can format text, just as you would in your word processor. There's also a helpful built-in image viewer. (Free for private, noncommercial use only). For Windows.
EasyHTML
Here's an easy-to-use, feature-packed free Web page editor from Finland. EasyHTML offers many helpful options such as the ability to edit multiple pages simultaneously. Also features such goodies as floating toolbars, a built-in browser and JavaScripts that you can easily add to your page. It's also one of the few HTML editors compatible with Microsoft's IntelliMouse. (For Windows). Available in English and Finnish versions.
Web-O-Rama Web page editor
This is a full-featured editor with a nice interface and many useful features, including intuitive forms for adding images, tables, links, lists, sounds, hex values, frames and more. All forms can be kept on top as floating toolbars. Other features include directory drop-down menus, a status bar with helpful info, a find & replace feature, auto-conversion of keyboard characters and more. Free, but donations are accepted. (For Windows).
Amaya
From the gatekeepers of the Web, W3C, comes this free, highly useful Web authoring tool & browser combination program. Amaya has tons of features, such as WYSIWYG and a spell checker and is evolving all the time. You don't need to know HTML to build a Web page with Amaya. (Available for Windows and Unix).
Arachnophilia
Don't spend $50 on a commercial Web authoring program until you've tried this cool free program. Arachnophilia is an outstanding Web editor, bursting with features. It'll import fully formatted text, tables, and outlines from any Windows-compliant application and automatically convert it to HTML. It also has built-in FTP capabilities that can automatically upload files (although it can't delete files, like a true FTP client can). Powerful keyboard macros can include system commands---even other macros, for maximum flexibility. (For Windows).
WindowHTML
(Note: this site is occasionally inaccessible). An excellent free Web authoring tool that lets you create eye-catching Windows-like HTML pages. Easy to use. (For Windows).