Total Commander

Total Commander is a shareware file manager for Windows. It can be used instead of Windows Explorer and works with two file windows side by side (if your memory goes back to the last millenium, perhaps you remember Norton Commander, which had a similar design). Total Commander is not only an excellent file manager but has several other useful features; it has a built-in FTP client, it can compare files and folders, and it has a easy to use multi-rename tool.

Total Commander is shareware software. It can be used for free indefinitely, but after 30 days you are expected to register (the unregistered version will remind you to register every time it starts). You can order the full version for 32 Euro (46 US$). After registration, all future updates can be downloaded for free.

Skype

Skype is a software application that offers VOIP service (VOIP = Voice Over Internet Protocol), which is a kind of telephone replacement allowing you to make voice calls over the Internet. Skype also offers video calls and you can also use it for chats. Calls to other Skype users are free.

It is also possible to use Skype for calls to landline telephones and mobile phones, but these calls are not free (however, they are cheaper than normal phone to phone calls). To make such kind of calls you have to open an account and buy some credit which can then be used to make the calls.

MediaMonkey

MediaMonkey is a software to play and organize all your music. It maintains your music library and helps you edit tags, album art and other data. Music can be grouped in categories (Rock, Blues, Classical, etc.). MediaMonkey can play MP3s and many other audio formats(M4A, APE, FLAC, WMA etc.) and can convert into other formats. Your playlists can be synchronized with iPhones, iPods, and other MP3 players.

MediaMonkey is available as freeware version or as a paid version. The latter ('Gold') costs about 15 Euro (or 30 Euro for a lifetime license) and has some additional features such as a sleep-function and support for multiple collections.

Advanced SystemCare

The free software Advanced Systemcare is used to improve computer performance and speed. It helps to keep your computer well-tuned by cleaning up registry, doing a smart defragment, scanning for malware, and cleaning up broken shortcuts. The PRO version (not free), has some additional features, but the free version does an excellent job.

AVG antivirus

Everybody needs antivirus software and there are several free products avaiolable that can do an excellent job keeping your computer free from viruses, trojan horses and other malware. A very good free antivirus software is AVG antivirus. After installation it will do its job in the background while you can keep working without worries. When you connect to the internet the programme will automatically update its database so that it stays up-to-date to catch the most recent viruses.

OpenOffice (Word, Excel, Access)

Most people will know Word, Excel, Access, Powerpoint and similar office software produced by Microsoft. Excellent software, but it will cost you quite some money. A very good free alternative is the free OpenOffice software suite, which includes components for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, and databases.

OpenOffice includes:

• Writer (similar to Word and WordPerfect)
• Calc (similar to Microsoft Excel and Lotus 1-2-3)
• Impress (similar to PowerPoint)
• Base (similar to Access)
• Draw (a vector graphics editor )
• Math (similar to Equation Editor)

GOM Media Player

GOM player is a free media player, which can play many types of video and audio formats (including DAT, MPEG, DivX, XviD, WMV, ASF, AVI, and MOV, and also some common codecs like FLV1, AC3, OGG, MP4, and H263).

Chrome

The best way to browse the internet is with Google Chrome. It's fast and free and in many ways better than the competition (Intenet Exporer and FireFox).

Legacy Family Tree

If you are looking for genealogy software to keep records of your family tree, an ecellent product is Legacy Family Tree. It helps you in organizing, printing and sharing your family history. The standard edition of Legacy is freeware, but if you pay a fee, you will get the Deluxe edition which has additional features. The program imports and exports standard GEDCOM files, which is a format used by many other genealogy software programs.

SilverKey

If you have any files which you want to hide securely from unauthorized users, you should encrypt them and protect them with a strong password. For example, if you want to send a sensitive file via email to a friend, you could encrypt it and your friend, who knows the password, would be the only one who can open and read it.

An excellent software to encrypt files is Silverkey. A nice feature is that the receiver of the encrypted file does not need to own the software. The file can be encrypted into an executable file (EXE extension) which will decrypt automatically when the correct password is given. If you are afraid that others can easily guess the password, you can use a very long sentence to be your password (or pass-sentence).

You can try Silverkey free for 30 days, and if you are happy with it you can the purchase the registered version (about 30 US$), or you could decide to just use the free Iron Key software, which is a free lite version of Silver Key.

Google Earth

A very educational software is Google earth, which allows you to "fly" to any place on the earth and explore it from the sky. You see satelite images and you can zoom in to see more details, for example to find your own house.

Google Earth software is free to download and has many additional features and geographical information. For example for many streets in the world it has "street view" which provides panoramic views by combining hundreds of photographs that were taken in the streets.

MindManager

If you are planning something and want to visualize your thought, or if you want to do some brainstorming, try using the MindManager software. It helps you see connections and generate new ideas, and it is easy to share your thoughts with others.

Notepad ++

Notepad++ is a small text editor. It is especially useful as a source code editor which supports several programming languages. Notepad++ is a nice tool when you write your own computer programs or if you edit HTML or PHP files, and best of all: it's free software. Nice features are that it can work with multiple open files, and that your source code is automatically color-coded.

Picasa

Picasa is a very good software for organizing and quick viewing your pictures. It is a free product produced by Google. You can use it to edit your photos, organize them in albums, add captions, and share them with family and friend.