Nowadays there is more and more software available for free from the internet, covering a range of products from virus checkers and web browsers to graphic design tools and office suites.  This list is my top 10 free Windows applications that no one should be without.  Some of these products even out perform some of their “paid for” counterparts.  Even if they don’t, they’re free!

1) Microsoft Security Essentials.

There are quite a few free security suites available for download, but none seem to have as many bases covered as Microsoft Security Essentials, available for download here.  Security Essentials offers Virus, Spyware and Malware protection for free.  Whats more, it doesn’t feature any of the annoying messages inviting you to upgrade to a premium service like alot of the free security software packages.

2) Mozilla Firefox

I have nothing against Internet Explorer, up until version 6 it performed admirably as my only browser.  I even installed Internet Explorer on my iMac back in the day when Microsoft produced a browser for Macs.  However, since version 7 I feel Microsoft have gotten a bit ahead of themselves.  Alot of website display strange behaviour with IE 7 or 8, the only solution I have found is to download Mozilla Firefox.  Although not perfect, it does display 99.9% of web pages correctly, and in my experience does it faster than Internet Explorer does.  There are other browsers available, Googles Chrome browser is an up and coming contender, but for now Firefox has my vote.

3) OpenOffice 3.2

Most retail PC’s from the likes of Hewlett Packard or Dell will come complete with Microsoft Office (usually just a trial) or Microsoft Works.  This is all well and good, but what to do when your free trial runs out?  Works in itself is not that useful, and a home license for Microsoft Office can prove expensive.  OpenOffice is a free office suite which is fully compatible with Microsoft Office documents.  It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of the latest Microsoft Office release, but it also doesn’t have that god awful interface.  Over one hundred million people have downloaded OpenOffice, why not joint them here.

4) Mozilla Thunderbird.

One thing Microsoft Office has over OpenOffice is a decent Email client.  Enter Mozilla Thunderbird.  From the same people who produce the Firefox web browser, this free Email client is about as good as you’re going to get for free.  It couldn’t be easier to set up your Email account with Thunderbird, no need to enter any server settings or port numbers, you just need your name (which most people can usually figure out), your Email address and your password.  Thunderbird does the rest.

5)  iTunes

This one is likely to divide some people.  A lot of people refuse to use iTunes on the basis that it’s made by Apple (and therefore somehow evil).  The truth is that although iTunes will try and get you to install other Apple software at the same time as you install it, it’s easy enough to stop it ever bothering you again for such things.  Once set up correctly it has an excellent library feature (especially for larger libraries like mine).  It’s also the only approved method of connecting many Apple devices (iPod, iPhone, iPad) to your computer, as well as being the most popular online media store on the planet.  Whatever your thoughts on Apple as a company, there’s no denying that iTunes has earned its place in the market place.

6) The GIMP

No, this article hasn’t taken a dark turn; GIMP stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program, “GNU” being a UNIX based operating system that has now developed into a LINUX distribution.  Basically this is a free piece of software along the lines of Adobe Photoshop, but without the price tag.  It’s fairly simple to use, but at the same time powerful enough for any amateur photographer.  Originally it was only available for Linux, but it can now be downloaded for Windows as well.  To save you the embarrassment of typing “GIMP” into Google, you can find the software here.


7) Pidgin

Those of you that use multiple Instant Messenger (IM) programs know how annoying it can be to keep track of your friends over multiple networks.  Pidgin answers this problem by having all your networks in one program.  There’s currently support for just about every well know IM network out there, and any future networks will probably be supported as well.  Whilst Pidgin might lack some of the special features of each networks own client, it does an excellent job of basic IM conversations as well as some other features such as file sharing.  Pidgin can be downloaded here.

8) VLC Media Player

While VLC Media Player might not win any awards for being the prettiest media player out there (the interface is pretty basic), what it will do is play just about any media file out there.  It can also act as a server to stream your media around the house (or even further afield if you’re feeling brave).  If you’ve got a media file that Windows Media Player won’t play, it’s almost guaranteed that VLC will play it, or at least try to.

9) XBMC

Where VLC is lacking in graphical appeal, XBMC has oodles of it.  Those that know me know that I’ve had a soft spot for the XBMC project ever since I installed it on my original XBOX.  These days it’s also available for Windows and does an excellent job of managing your media files, much better in fact than Microsofts Media Centre software.  It’s fully skinnable, has masses of plugins available and can retrieve meta information about your media from a variety of online sources.  It also plays internet radio and shows RSS feeds and the weather for three different locations.  It’s nothing short of a masterpiece, download it now!

10) Audacity

If you haven’t heard of Audacity you’ve likely been living under a rock, or possibly in North Korea.  In short, Audacity is a multi-platform, free, audio editor and recorder.  It allows you to record audio from almost any source and then save it in a variety of sources.  This is absolutely essential if you have old records or tapes to convert into a digital music collection.  Also useful if you have to dictate and then send the recordings to colleagues or friends.  Version 1.3 is currently in beta testing, but version 1.2 can be downloaded here.

I hope you’ve found this list useful, there’s something for everyone there.  All of the above are worth at least trying, they are freely downloadable and shouldn’t cause you any problems should you decide they’re not for you and uninstall them.  There are literally thousands of freely downloadable Windows applications these days, and the ten above are simply my personal favourites.  Some of the above are a good alternative to “paid for” applications, whereas others are almost in a league of their own, with no commercial product available in the same category.  In any case, for the grand price of your time and effort, these are some top quality products that any Windows user should consider downloading.