 | Spybot S&D
Detects and removes spyware. Compliments anti-virus apps. Has a very good reputation. Download |  | Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware
Easy-to-use, simple, and very effective anti-malware application. Download |  | IObit Malware Fighter
Advanced malware & spyware removal utility. Download |
 | Threatfire
Spyware removal tool with real-time antispyware protection. Lightweight and memory sparing. Download |  | Superantispyware
Lightweight scanner to detect and remove spyware, adware, trojans, and other threats. Download |
 | PC Tools Firewall Plus 6
Powerful firewall capable of providing excellent protection. Download |  | Comodo Firewall (standalone)
Long been considered one of the best free firewall tools available. Download |  | ZoneAlarm Free Firewall
Provides the best overall firewall protection for advanced users. Download |
 | Online Armor Free
All of the normal features of a firewall and more. Download |  | Ashampoo FireWall Free
Very easy to use and navigate. For intermediate users. Download |
 | Auslogics Disk Defrag
Simple, reliable and quite fast. A must-have free PC tool. Considered no.1 by many. Download |  | Defraggler
Another excellent defrag tool. Portable. From the same guys behind hugely popular CCleaner. Download |  | IObit Smart Defrag
Extremely easy to use. Works continuously in the background. Download |
 | Recuva
Very effective in restoring deleted files. Extremely popular. Download |  | FreeUndelete
No frills, just focused on the zen of file recovery. Download |  | ADRC Data Recovery Software
The Renaissance Man of free data recovery. Not as popular as Recuva but still has its own fans. Download |
 | Revo Uninstaller Free
Fast and very effective at uninstalling just about anything. Popular choice for the purpose. Download |  | IObit Uninstaller
New kid on the block. Gaining popularity. Boasts a bunch of features not found on other uninstallers. Download |  | Absolute Uninstaller
Less popular than the other two but probably the simplest to use one. Download |
 | Mozy
Incredibly smart, highly secure, set-it-and-forget-it backup solution. Backups data to web. Download |  | FBackup
Easily backup important files and documents, personal settings and plugins. Download |  | Todo Backup
Able to backup the entire operating system, program settings, browser data, emails and other data. Download |
 | Clonezilla
Live CD to completely clone your hard drive. Download |  | SyncBack Freeware
Selective synchronisation, local and remote backup to an FTP server. Download |  | FreeFileSync
Open source folder comparison and sync tool. Optimised for speed and usability. Download |
 | CopyTo Synchronizer
Wide set of options for backing up, updating, and synchronizing files. Download |  | DriveImage XML
Easily Backup or copy entire disks block-for-block directly to another drive without the need to reboot your computer to run the cloning process. Download |
 | Glary Utilities
Includes over 15 useful system maintenance tools. Been recommended by MakeUseOf several times! Download |  | CCleaner
Scores high points all around. The most popular choice at the moment. Not as many features as in others. Download |  | IObit Toolbox
The amount of system maintenance tools included in this free app is truly staggering. Download |
 | Soluto
Speed up Windows boot time by removing unnecessary apps from startup. Very effective. Download |  | IObit Advanced SystemCare Free
One-click approach to help protect, repair, clean, and optimize your PC. Download |
 | Google Chrome
The fastest, minimal design browser (from Google) now with extension support. Growing extremely fast. Download |  | Firefox
More than 6,000 add-ons for every possible feature. The most customisable browser to date. Download |  | Safari
A web browser from Apple. Designed to emphasize browsing. Also features extensions. Download |
 | Opera
The “fastest and most advanced” browser available today. Download |
 | Thunderbird
Increasingly popular email client from the same guys behind Firefox browser. One of the best email clients for Windows. Download |  | Postbox Express
A simple, yet powerful, new email application for Windows. Check it out. Download |  | Google Notifier
Alerts you when you have new Gmail messages. Simple and handy. Download |
 | Skype
The most popular cross-platform VoIP application. Must-have for everyone online. Download |  | Pidgin
Easy-to-use, cross-platform, multi-protocol chat client. Supports all major chat programs. Download |  | Digsby
An alternative multi-protocol instant messaging app. Cross-platform. Extremely popular. Download |
 | Trillian Astra
Popular multi-protocol instant messaging client. Download |
 | Paint.NET
Strong candidate as a potential substitute for Photoshop for beginner/intermediate users. Download |  | FastStone Image Viewer
One of the best image viewer, converter & editor bundles. Download |  | IrfanView
The Swiss Army knife of image viewers/editors. Extremely popular. Download |
 | Google Picasa
Powerful photo manager software from Google. Includes 1-click photo retouching features. Easy online photo sharing. Download |  | GIMP
Very capable graphic editor with Photoshop-like features. Often labeled as free Photoshop alternative. Download |  | PhotoScape
Another good free and easy-to-use photo editing application. Download |
 | foobar2000
Advanced audio player for Windows with highly customisable user interface. Download | Full Review |  | Songbird
A popular music player based on Mozilla’s code. Includes some really useful plugins. Download |  | Audacity
Very popular open source software for recording and editing audio tracks and sounds. Download |
 | iTunes
Music player and video library organiser. Hosts the iTunes Store. Download |  | MediaMonkey
Full-featured music player and music collection organiser. Download |  | Winamp
Well-known, lightweight, small-footprint media player. Download |
 | CopyTrans Manager
Alternative iPod manager app. Sync and transfer music & files to iPod, iPhone, iPad. Download |  | TagScanner
A multifunction program for organizing and managing your music collection. Download |
 | VLC Media Player
Extremely popular cross-platform video player that can play almost any video file. Highly recommended by many. Download |  | Handbrake
Open source, cross-platform, video converter that can convert video files between many video formats. Download |  | VirtualDub
Open-source and portable video editor. Download |
 | Media Player Classic
Replica of WM Player. Includes only the most basic controls but can play pretty much any video. Download |  | Freemake
Free video converter & DVD burner that’s easy to use. Download |  | Format Factory
Multifunctional audi and video converter. Supports MP4, AVI, WMV, FLV, SWF, RMVB and lots more. Download |
 | KMPlayer
Highly customisable, popular, multi-format video player. Download |
 | FileMenu Tools
Customise the right-click context menu of Windows Explorer. Adds lots of useful functions and utilities. Download |  | FreeCommander
Free file browser and Windows Explorer replacement. Two-pane browsing, secure file deletion and more. Download |  | TeraCopy
Copy and move files at maximum speed. Pause and resume file transfers. Download |
 | EASEUS Partition Master
All-in-one, easy to use disk partition manager. Create, resize and merge partitions. Download |  | Unlocker
Can’t delete a folder or a file? Getting an error that it’s being used by another program? Unlocker can easily delete it. Download |  | TreeSize Free
Shows you where your precious hard drive space has gone to. Easily view how much space is being used by each folder. Download |
 | DropIt
Tiny tool to automate categorizing files and folders. Drag a file on top of it and it will place it for you where you need it. Portable version available. Download |  | Free Opener
An easy way to quickly open over 80 types of file types using one tiny program. Download |  | SyncToy
Free application that synchronizes files and folders between locations. Download |
 | LibreOffice
Microsoft Office alternative. Open source professional productivity and office suite. Download |  | Dropbox
Must-have for everyone. Sync folder with docs and files to web or other PCs / Macs. Share documents. Download |  | Notepad++
Popular open source text editor. Favoured by many, including programmers. Download |
 | FoxIt Reader
Really light alternative to Adobe Reader. Open PDF files. Download |  | doPDF
Easily convert documents and pictures to PDF files from any Windows program with two clicks. Download |  | PDF Xchange viewer
Desktop and portable PDF viewer. Lightweight and fast. Download |
 | Nitro PDF Reader
Read PDFs, create PDFs. Extract content, annotate and fill PDF forms. Download |  | OpenOffice
Another popular free alternative to Microsoft Office. Download |  | PDFTK Builder
Free graphical interface version of PDFTK. Merge, split, decrypt, encrypt, watermark PDF files. Download |
 | VIM Text Editor
Highly configurable text editor. Download |  | PDFsam
Easily split and merge PDF files. Download |
 | Fences
Provides rectangular containers for your desktop to visually organize your icons. Very handy! Download |  | Rainlendar
Very easy to use and lightweight calendar for your Windows desktop. Download |  | Evernote
Save your ideas on the go and instantly take notes. Access notes from anywhere. Highly recommended! Download |
 | VirtuaWin
Gives you multiple virtual desktops to organize your workflow. Highly customisable. Download |  | Launchy
A powerful keystroke based program launcher that lets you open program and files really quickly. Download |  | Send to Toys
Enhances the right-click ‘Send To’ system menu. Personalise and configure the Send To menu content. Download |
 | Dexpot
Create virtual desktops to separate different running apps and Windows. Comparable to Spaces on Mac OS X. Download |  | Q-Dir
Free multi-pane file manager to save you time. Portable version available. Download |  | ClipX
Tiny, free clipboard history manager. Access up to 1024 items in your clipboard’s history. Download |
 | Bruce’s Unusual Typing Wizard
Gain typing speed and accuracy with its unique touch-typing teaching program. Download |  | SendToSendTo
Easily add new entries to the right-click “Send To” menu. Download |  | Ditto
Saves each item placed on the clipboard allowing you access to any of those items at a later time. Download |
 | 7-zip
Takes care of most of your archive extracting/compression needs. Supports ZIP, RAR and many others formats. Download |  | Universal Extractor
With over 50 supported file formats, Universal Extractor is superb. Download |  | IZArc
One archive utility to rule them all. Supports almost all formats. Download |
 | ImgBurn
CD/DVD/HD-DVD/Blu-ray burning tool. Also, lets you easily create image files from CDs and DVDs. Download |  | CDBurnerXP
The most popular free alternative to Nero Burning ROM. Burn CDs, DVDs, Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs. Download |  | bitRipper
Back-up your DVDs as AVI files or MPEG to your hard drive. Excellent backup tool for DVDs. Download |
 | CDex
Open-source digital audio CD extractor. Saves CD tracks as MP3′s. Download |  | DuBaron CD2ISO
A great tool to extract ISO images from CDs or DVDs. Very simple and easy to use. Download |  | Virtual CloneDrive
Mount a virtual drive to open and playback ISO image files (CD/DVD images). Download |
 | DVDShrink
The easiest and one of the better free DVD ripping and backup tools. Download |  | Exact Audio Copy
The most accurate and error-free audio CD extractor.
Can extract MP3s from a CD. Download |  | DVD Flick
Easy-to-use DVD creation software. Allows adding subtitles and making DVD menus as well. Download |
 | WinCDEmu
Mount ISO, CUE, NRG, MDS/MDF, CCD, IMG images by simply clicking on them in Windows Explorer. Download |
 | uTorrent
Speedy, efficient, and free. The most popular BitTorrent client. Download |  | Deluge
An awesome but unappreciated cross-platform BitTorrent client. Download |  | YouTube Downloader HD
Downloads YouTube videos with just a few clicks of the mouse button. Download |
 | PeerBlock
Control/block your PC’s communication with ad or spyware servers. Secures P2P activities. Download |  | Free Download Manager
Open source download accelerator and manager. Increase download speeds and resume broken downloads. Download |  | Jdownloader
The most popular downlaod manager. Quickly and efficiently download files from sites such as Rapidshare, Megaupload and many others. Download |
 | LastPass
Secure plugin to store and synchronise login passwords across browsers. Comes auto-login and form filler. Download |  | TrueCrypt
Free open-source, cross-platform disk and data encryption tool. Encrypt and hide sensitive files. Download |  | TeamViewer
Request remote technical assistance. Connect to remote computer. Zero setup required. Download |
 | PortableApps Suite
A collection of useful portable apps that can be stored on USB stick. Carry the apps with you wherever you go on a thumbdrive. Download |  | Sticky Password
Free password and identity manager. Browser add-on for automatic login and form-filling. Download |  | KeePass
Free, open source, lightweight and easy-to-use password manager. Download |
 | LiberKey
Suite of over 300 free useful software apps that you can carry with you wherever you go. Download |  | Hiren’s BootCD
All-in-one bootable CD providing an alternate boot environment to troubleshoot Windows problems. Download |  | Eraser
Advanced security tool to completely remove sensitive data from your hard drive. Download |
 | iPrint
Print multiple pages on each sheet of paper, delete unwanted pages. Lowers printing costs. Download |  | Antirun
Protects your PC by blocking viruses and malware from infected USB thumbsticks and flash drives. Download |  | Everything search engine
Locates files and folders by name instantly. Download |
 | Game Booster 3
Speeds up your PC for faster gaming. Download |  | DriverPack Solution 11
Makes the job of finding and automatically installing drivers really easy. Download |
|
avast! Free Antivirus 
AntiVir Free 
AVG Antivirus Free Edition
Microsoft Security Essentials 
Comodo Internet SecurityInternet 
