Opera Internet Browser
A very good alternative to the standard Internet Explorer. It has many more features and is truly worth a try. It is very similar to Mozilla Firefox, with all the features such as skins and add-ons that don't ome with Microsoft-Supported Internet Explorer.
It can also double up as torrent downloader, giving this another excellent feature.
Very underrated, and used by very few people compared to Firefox and IE, when, in my opinion, it far exceeds them both. AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition Version 8
Everybody knows you need an anti-virus program, and many use costly programs such as Norton Anti-Virus to keep them safe. But, AVG is a free anti-virus program, that is extremely useful. It has updates regurally (normally daily), and has features to scan the whole drive, quick scan the drive, scan individual items etc.
It also has an extra benefit, as with the latest version 8, it now has an added online protection; where whilst using Google a tick is displayed next to each webpage displayed to show that that particular website has been scanned and that it is safe and virus free.
Other features also include: the ability to set times for full scans and updates, and built in extras such as anti-spyware protection and an email-scanner.
Overall very good, and best of all, free. 7-Zip
This is a packing and unpacking program. It is basically Winrar's cousin, and is yet again, very unheard of. Unlike Winrar it is completely free, and you can use it as much as you want without it harassing you to pay for it. It can do everything Winrar can do, usually faster as an added bonus to it. It can handle all .zip files and .rar files, as well as a host of other file types that you will probably never heard of.
If you are tired of messing around with Winrar and all it's messages asking you to buy the thing, or your having a hard time trying to navigate their maze-like website to actually find the free edition, then give 7-Zip a go, you won't regret it. Incredimail
Incredimail is a simple email opening program. It has all the standard pop3 etc, and is incredibly easy to use. Their motto is "Have Fun Sending Email", and they don't lie.
It is much more colourful than the standard Outlook Express that comes with windows, and is definitely an improvement on a web based email. There are fancy notifiers for when you get an email, there are dozens of cool smilies you can use in your messages; and lots of other little nifty things that make using this third party email application worth using.
It does have the option to upgrade to a premium account, and this give more skins and some more fancy options, but it doesn't really mind if you don't want to upgrade, and the free version is more than sufficient. Overall it is definitely worth a try. What have you got to lose? Log-Me-In
Log-Me-In is a program that allows you to log into a computer and view it remotely. This sounds quite useless, and for some people it might be, but for some people it could be an invaluable tool.
Need to check your email at home whilst your at work, but its all set up in Outlook and you have no way of accessing it online? You can use Log-Me-In to view your exactly what is on the screen on your home computer, and you can then manipulate it, so you can just move the mouse, open up outlook and read that pointless email from your mum.
Overall an excellent tool, especially for those who need to have access to your home computer whilst your out and about.
Final Words
All these programs can make your life that little bit easier, and hopefull you will give them a shot, and see just how good these programs are. After all their all free, and they are all easy to uninstall should you decide that their just not right for you.
