Useful Software

[Morgan Evanar]

Firefox. http://mozilla.org IE is like riding a giant wild AIDS virus that will give you AIDS while doing awful things. Awful things.

Google Chrome (http://www.google.com/chrome) has joined the party and it's pretty cool.

Opera (http://www.opera.com/download/) is an excellent alternative to Firefox, and is now free.

The best Anti-Virus package:
NOD32 (http://www.eset.com/)

A very good free AV package
Microsoft Security essentials. (http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/) The other stuff isn't as good.


An IM Client:
Pidgin http://www.pidgin.im/
Trillian http://trillian.cc
Miranda IM http://www.miranda-im.org/

A good audio player:
http://www.musikcube.com/
http://www.foobar2000.org/

Videolan, in case that stupid video doesn't work
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

To upload images to websites without using the silly web interface:
http://filezilla.sf.net

Crap Cleaner (http://www.ccleaner.com/). Because everyone has crap on their computer that needs cleaning. CCleaner removes old temp files and other unnecessary junk, freeing up tons of room. For most people, CCleaner will often find anywhere from 300mb-2GB of useless junk the first time it runs.

IrfanView. A VERY small and quick image viewer/editor/resizer/everything. Awesome program.
http://www.irfanview.com/

Don't have Photoshop? Bashing your head against MS Paint?
Paint.net (http://www.getpaint.net/) or The GIMP (http://www.gimp.org/) can help you out.

[Tear]

How come no ones sticked this list yet? This is like the third or fourth time ive seen a thread like this where people list useful software.

Stickeeeeeeeee:p

[Rathe Maris]

My current personal favorite audio player.

http://www.cowonamerica.com/download/

[Shawn]

Zoom Player (http://www.majorgeeks.com/download413.html) is a robust media player that can play any filetype under the sun, has easy to use stream switching (for files with multiple audio/subtitle tracks) and aspect ratio correction.

Crap Cleaner (http://www.ccleaner.com/). Because everyone has crap on their computer that needs cleaning. CCleaner removes old temp files and other unnecessary junk, freeing up tons of room. For most people, CCleaner will often find anywhere from 300mb-2GB of useless junk the first time it runs.

[Marceloi]

Originally posted by Shawn

Microsoft Anti-Spyware (Beta) (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=321CD7A2-6A57-4C57-A8BD-DBF62EDA9671&displaylang=en) - I find that it works better than Spybot and Ad-Aware combined. It's basically Giant's Anti-Spyware program under a different name.


I would steer clear big time. Too many false notifications and has dowgraded Gator and related spyware and wont clean by default. Microsoft correct response to spyware is to seal the holes that that crap uses to install itself.

[Shawn]

They switched the default suggestion for Gator-related programs to "Ignore", and I can understand why, since most people who have things like WeatherBug installed want it installed. You can still choose to clean it if it finds it.

It still catches more stuff than either Spybot or Ad-Aware.

[Zasz Grimm]

Is their a better version of trillian? Or something to make it easier? I'm sadly using AIM.

[Shawn]

There's GAIM (http://gaim.sourceforge.net/). I don't like it, but it's another alternative.

[Daiquiri]

I actually prefer AIM to GAIM (which Ive been using since before my departure over a year ago) but theres less clutter with GAIM. Cant send files with it, tho and cant connect to others :(

[Jaime Tomahawk]

Eh? Yes you can....?

I straight out prefer GAIM as it's nice, easy, does the job and has never given me a hint of a problem. Plus, I've always hated trillian's interfaces and useless bits.

[Daiquiri]

How do you do it?? Ive never been able to send files or connect since using GAIM :(

[Morgan Evanar]

Ok, I added AIMhack, which takes most of the crap out of AIM and turns it into what it was 4 years ago.

[Shawn]

µTorrent (http://www.utorrent.com/) - An amazingly tiny BitTorrent client that has nearly all of the features of the "big boys", but takes up less than 4mb of memory usage under load. It still has a few kinks in it, but the devs are squashing bugs at a breakneck pace. The program itself is only 82kb and doesn't need to be installed to run.

[Yog]

Originally posted by Shawn
µTorrent (http://www.utorrent.com/) - An amazingly tiny BitTorrent client that has nearly all of the features of the "big boys", but takes up less than 4mb of memory usage under load. It still has a few kinks in it, but the devs are squashing bugs at a breakneck pace. The program itself is only 82kb and doesn't need to be installed to run.

uTorrent replaced Azureus as my primary torrent program. I love it. Its so fast and small, and no java crappiness.

I would also add Opera browser to the list of "Must have programs". Its free now, fast, flexible and easy to configure. You dont need to fiddle with extensions, as anything you need are standard features :)

http://www.opera.com/download/

[Darth McBain]

A few weeks ago a power surge blew out my KVM switch, so I've been poking around for an alternative. I found software called Synergy which allows a single mouse and keyboard to control all computers on a network. It's free at sourceforge.net. It was really easy to install - you just define how the screens "link-up" (i.e. you tell it which computer to go to when you run your mouse off a given edge of your current screen) and you're good to go. It makes working with multiple networked PCs much easier...

[Mitch]

A must-have for any Windows user. And it's free, officially from Microsoft themselves.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/Miscellaneous/BlueScreen.mspx

[Hartus Kenobi]

I'm a MAC user, and these are some of my more frequently-used programs that weren't a part of the installation package:

BIT TORRENT:
Transmission : http://transmission.m0k.org/

INSTANT MESSENGING:
Adium: http://www.adiumx.com/

IMAGE VIEWER:
JView: http://home.nc.rr.com/jview/jview.html

FLV Viewer:
flvThing: http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/22760

Watching QT files full-screen:
Fullscreen4free: http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/23093

I also have a PC though, and for that, my favorite program is IrfanView. A VERY small and quick image viewer/editor/resizer/everything. Awesome program.
http://www.irfanview.com/

[Turbogeek]

There should be a "Programs to avoid thread" And then the subsection "If you really MUST have Vista, then here's some tips to make it actually work"

Like turning off Remote Differential compression
Turning off display thumbnails
Install patch to fix the borked network stack
Turning off the utter crap Vista comes with
How to install Ubantu and forget this BS ever existed.

Office 2007 is as good as Vista is crap

[Turbogeek]

Linux geeks should have the following

a) Ubuntu 7.10 - KUbuntu isnt quite recommended until 8.04 and then you get KDE 4 with blows Vista's crap interface away

b) Open Office 2.3

c) Azerus isnt too bad on Linux. Certainly the Java run time seems to actually work properly.

d) Pidgen IM - GAIM with the new name

And handy knowledge of the inbuilt Add / Remove programs and applications. There's so many to browse through and your Windows favorites are almost certainly somewhere in that list.

e) NO Antivirus or anti spyware required.

Now I've really gotten used to Ubuntu, I find Windows depressingly awful.

[Miranda Tarkin]

What's a good spy-ware zapper?

[Crusader]

http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html


If you need a simple, yet very efficient tool to convert (encode) or play any Multimedia file, without reading manuals or spending long hours training, then SUPER © is all you need.
It is a Multimedia Encoder and a Multimedia Player, easy-to-use with 1 simple click.


This is my solution to everything right now. It is capable to convert nearly everything and the quality of its encoding capability is more than satisfying. It can Ripp DVD, Quicktime and Windows Media files down to DivX without any problems. It is free and it does all the incredible Video Voodoo you might have dreamt about.

[Yog]

Screamer Radio. (http://www.screamer-radio.com/)

This lightweight netradio program has access to thousands of radio channels, and automatically updates database when you start it. It can also record what you are listening as single track MP3s with correct song tag and start / stop time depending on the stream.

Screamer Radio achieves Yog's highly coveted and prestigious "recommended software" award. :thumbup


.. also, if you are in United States:
http://www.pandora.com/

[Daiquiri]

Ive read through the thread and wonder if theres any new FREE anti trojan/worm downloads. Most of the 'free' downloads Ive found always has this string attached: you can download it for free and run it for free but to remove anything harmful, you have to purchase it :(

[Morgan Evanar]

Get NOD32. Yes, it costs money, but it's the only AV aside from Kaspersky that isn't useless. It also has a 30 day trial.

[Cat X]

Get NOD32. Yes, it costs money, but it's the only AV aside from Kaspersky that isn't useless. It also has a 30 day trial.

I would second this. it is the only one that actually works with the new threats. AVG has turned to crap.

I would otherwise urge anyone concerned to just simply get off Windows and move to alternatives.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Is there a solid program that can remove errors from a computer for cheap or (even better) for free? Advanced Registry Organizer sounds like a solid choice considering they want 30 dollars for the program, but I was wondering if anyone had anything better that they used.

[Milivikal k'Vik]

What sort of errors?

[Jaime Tomahawk]

Is there a solid program that can remove errors from a computer for cheap or (even better) for free? Advanced Registry Organizer sounds like a solid choice considering they want 30 dollars for the program, but I was wondering if anyone had anything better that they used.

Either CrapCleaner or don't bother. Most registry "cleaners" are worth exactly ZERO.

I think your errors are probably something that a program wont fix. As above, exactly what is going on?

[Rossos Atrapes]

I got something similar going on, but I found a useful program in XPtools, though how helpful it might be for you is dependent on whether or not you have XP. You do have to pay for it, but there are ways around almost anything if you look hard enough...:angel

However, I have another problem that I'd like to ask about for those who might know: I've been trying to defragment my computer recently, but it continues to say that it cannot start, whether for analysis or defragmentation. Any tips that can help me out? I'd rather not have to download anything to fix it, but I will if I must.

[Morgan Evanar]

http://www.emro.nl/freeware/
JK defrag with a front end. Much better than the built in defragmenter.

[Rossos Atrapes]

Thank you very much!

[Kanji]

http://www.launchy.net/

This little program is handy for those who like to use windows shortcuts rather than search around through your start menu for something. What it does is allows you to set up a keystroke combination that when activated, brings up a small input window where you can type in the name of the program you want to launch.

Now, here's the best part. You don't even need to fully spell out the word, hitting the keystroke combination and typing in 'ph' brings up Photoshop for me. Or other strokes like, 'm' brings up Mozilla. 'Thu' brings up Thunderbird, etc.

Handy for shortcut lovers. :)

[Mu Satach]

http://www.fiastarta.com/PrtScr/index.html

Little screen grab utility like Microsoft's Snipping Tool. Only this one works on XP. I quite like it. It's made my life easier for inserting screen shots for manuals and presentations.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Combofix (http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix)

I found out about this from a tech at work, and used it to clean out one of my PC's. It's bare bones, and the guys who made it didn't waste any energy in aesthetics, but it's a fantastic tool to have in my opinion and cleaned up the problems on Charley's computer easily.

[Mandy with an I]

Does anyone know of a tiny IM client I can put on my net book? Preferably one that will let me use the built-in cam and mic. TIA!

[Darth Turbogeek]

Does anyone know of a tiny IM client I can put on my net book? Preferably one that will let me use the built-in cam and mic. TIA!


Pidgen has a very low footprint and uses what the hell you have on your machine.

[Mandy with an I]

nevermind, figured it out. thanks mark.

Okay, it doesn't have any way of using the cam on Pidgin at all. I have the lastest version on my PC :-/ Ended up using the chat within gmail instead.

[Yog]

Okay, it doesn't have any way of using the cam on Pidgin at all. I have the lastest version on my PC :-/ Ended up using the chat within gmail instead.
Videochat is currently under development (http://developer.pidgin.im/wiki/vv) for Pidgin, so you will probably see that in a future version. I assume you were looking a for a multi platform chat client that allows you to use MSN, AIM, yahoo, ICQ or whatever all at once? Well, the problem with that is, because all of these protocols use different standards for video conferencing, it is very time consuming to implement them all into one client such as Pidgin, and that is why it is not available yet.

Trillian Pro 3.0 does just that (multiplatform and video support), but it's not free.

.. or, you could use MSN, AIM, yahoo or whatever in vanilla software mode, and then you have access to webcam.

The best free videochat software right now is probably Skype (http://www.skype.com/). You might consider having that running beside your text chat client for now.

Btw, here is a feature list for chat clients. You can see which ones have support for webcam:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_instant_messaging_clients#Features

[Yog]

Flashblocking is a good way to improve the speed and stability of your browser, plus you get rid of annoying flash ads and other auto-playing nuisances. You also get rid of flash security exploits.

"But.. but.. YouTube! My flash tetris game!"

You can still use YouTube and view / play any other flash content, you silly cat. Flashblocking merely prevents stuff from autoloading, which is the kind of thing that can crash your browser, or cause stuff to behave retardedly slow. Instead, there will be a fast loading placeholder graphic you can click, and THEN it loads the flash content. Try it. If you don't like it, turn it off. Thank me later.

Firefox
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/433/

Opera 10.5 and later:
opera:config#UserPrefs|EnableOnDemandPlugin
Check Enable On Demand, click "save".

Google Chrome:
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/cdngiadmnkhgemkimkhiilgffbjijcie

IE users - damnit, use a real browser already. But if you're so stubborn:
http://www.ie7pro.com/ad-blocker.html

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Is there any decent DVD ripper, with a bent especially for converting to mobile devices like phones and such? Everything I find seems to be a trial version of pay software.

[Atreyu]

A good image viewer/converter http://www.irfanview.com/

IrfanView. A VERY small and quick image viewer/editor/resizer/everything. Awesome program.
http://www.irfanview.com/
You've listed Irfanview twice. :p

[Mu Satach]

Is there any decent DVD ripper, with a bent especially for converting to mobile devices like phones and such? Everything I find seems to be a trial version of pay software.
Tried handbrake?
http://handbrake.fr/

I also like - MPEG Streamclip

http://www.squared5.com/


if I want to just grab and rip something to my ipod or android phone I use handbrake, if I want to do something more interesting I use MPEG Streamclip.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Handbrake doesn't work for me because of some garbage saying that I need microsoft .NET runtime library 2.0 and I've already installed that and yet it still says I need it.

Streamclip says the file is too short every time I try to load a DVD.

[Mu Satach]

for Streamclip are you selecting the drive? or a specific file off the disc? I seem to remember getting that error if I tried selecting anything other than the D: \ drive

[Sidian Frost]

I didn't see this mentioned so I thought I'd pass along the program that was mentioned to me. I use uTorrent for all sorts of torrents and this program blocks third person and just helps keep you from getting warning and or fines.

PeerBlock (http://www.peerblock.com/)

Make sure you have it running before you download and turn on the HTTP blocker. Mind if you turn the HTTP blocker on things will wind up going slow if the place you are on has lost of images. So yeah...

Here's my little contribution to an amazing list!

[skinnerr]

What antivirus do you guys use? My Norton Internet Security would expire in a couple of weeks and I have decided not to renew my subscription and just use something else.

Avast probably would top my list when it comes to going with something free. I think it is a lot of notches better as compared to the free version of avg, as I just think that does not provide that much level of security.

[Morgan Evanar]

Avast http://www.avast.com/en-us/index
or
Microsoft Security essentials.

[Vince]

focuswriter (http://gottcode.org/focuswriter/)

"FocusWriter is a simple, distraction-free writing environment. It utilizes a hide-away interface that you access by moving your mouse to the edges of the screen, allowing the program to have a familiar look and feel to it while still getting out of the way so that you can immerse yourself in your work. It's available for Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X, and has been translated into many different languages."

It seems like it might be particularly useful for Nanowrimo and such. The typewriter sound option is particularly cheesy/cool.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Incidentally I got Q10 for Nano last year and it seems very similar. http://www.baara.com/q10/

[Vince]

Incidentally I got Q10 for Nano last year and it seems very similar. http://www.baara.com/q10/

They do seem very similar, save for the lack of themes on Q10 (as far as I saw) which is actually pretty good, given that I've wasted quite a bit of time on some themes which I won't actually use. But another difference, and a big drawback to Q10 (at least for me) is that Q10 isn't available for Linux, and no Linux version is planned.

Means I can't use it. :(

Ah well. C'est la vie.

[Morgan Evanar]

Not even under WINE?

[Vince]

I guess I could use WINE, but I've heard there's a lot of support issues with a lot of programs. Then there's the fact that my computer's a POS, and I'm not sure about how well it will run.

[Morgan Evanar]

Probably pretty well, it's a word processing program.

[Vince]

Perhaps, but sometimes my computer has trouble running Firefox or LibreOffice, and that's without the need for WINE. I'm not saying I think it's bad or anything with WINE either, but I don't particularly see the need to download WINE to run Q10 when I have FocusWriter with a plain background.

[Zeke]

[QUOTE=Morgan Evanar;152720
The best Anti-Virus package:
NOD32 (http://www.eset.com/)[/QUOTE]

Is this statement still true? Because this Webroot whatever thing that came with my machine is freaking schizophrenic about what is and isn't threatening and I'm not sure it's even trying to actively scan my machine for viruses and malware.

[Morgan Evanar]

Nod32 is still one of the best AV packages.

[Zeke]

Have it. Happy with it. Thanks!

[Serena Laran]

...is this list still relevant?

[Droo]

It could possibly do with some updates, but there are things in the list that are still very useful.

[Atreyu]

Probably pay to unsticky this thread and start another afresh - some good links here but also some very out-of-date ones as well (no surprise - the thread was started in 2005 :clint).

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Yeah I was thinking having a stickied thread from 2005 does not really help us look as active as we are.:)

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

I'd argue that it would make us look like we knew our shit even back then :p

[Morgan Evanar]

I just cleaned up a bunch of stuff. It's remarkable how much of it is still true :x

[gsabilly]

:yoda: (http://www./)Sticke :p (http:/)