List of very useful free Windows software

This is a list of Windows software that I find really useful. All the software baring one or two are available for Free (GPL).

Text Editor

Notepad++ – This is a free source code editor and Notepad replacement that supports several languages. This editor sports a tabbed interface, has configurable syntax highlighting, syntax folding, line numbering, multi-view, bookmarks and regular expression search … just to name a few.

Dictionary

WordWeb -  Is a comprehensive one-click English thesaurus and dictionary for Windows. It can be used to look up words from almost any program, showing definitions, synonyms and related words. It includes pronunciations and usage examples, and has helpful spelling and sounds-like links. It is available in two forms – WordWeb Free version and WordWeb Pro version. The Pro version has 6000 more definitions and additional features not available in Free version. But the Pro version costs $19.

CD/DVD Writing Software

ImgBurn – Is a lightweight CD / DVD / HD DVD / Blu-ray burning application that everyone should have in their toolkit. ImgBurn supports a wide range of image file formats – including BIN, CUE, DI, DVD, GI, IMG, ISO, MDS, NRG and PDI. It can burn Audio CD’s from any file type supported. You can use it to build DVD , HD DVD  and Blu-ray discs with ease. An excellent Free replacement for Nero Burning ROM.

Media Player

VLC – VLC media player is a highly portable Free multimedia player and multimedia framework capable of reading most audio and video formats (MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, DivX, MPEG-1, mp3, ogg, aac …) as well as DVDs, Audio CDs VCDs, and various streaming protocols. With VLC installed on your Windows machine, you can forget about all other media players. VLC is also available for Linux and Mac OS X.

RSS Reader

FeedDaemon -  This is a very powerful RSS reader and News aggregator for Windows. It allows you to completely customize the way feeds are organized and displayed. Set up custom news watches based on keywords or use the powerful search to find articles. You can even download Podcasts and audio files and have them show up on your portable audio device. In addition, FeedDemon synchronizes with NewsGator Online and Google Reader. I have yet to find another RSS reader which rivals FeedDaemon in its features.

Download Manager

Free Download Manager – This is a powerful, easy-to-use, Open source download accelerator and manager. FDM accelerates downloads by splitting files into sections and then downloading them simultaneously. As a result download speed increases up to 600%, or even more! FDM can also resume broken downloads so you needn`t start downloading from the beginning after casual interruption. It also supports HTTP/FTP/BitTorrent and Flash video download.

BitTorrent Client

µTorrent – µTorrent is the world’s most popular BitTorrent client. µTorrent   does not hog valuable system resources – typically using less than 6MB of memory. This tiny program (220KB) has support for bandwidth prioritization, scheduling, RSS auto-downloading and peer exchange – just to name a few.

Mind Mapping Software

XMind – This is an open source, cross platform mind mapping software. XMind, combined with online sharing service, provides a revolutionary way to enable both team brainstorming and personal mind mapping.

Comic  Book Reader / Image Viewer

CDisplay -  This is a popular Image viewer which also works as a comic book reader. A very small memory footprint, coupled with ease of use makes this a very convenient software utility. The program’s inspiration and implementation was partly because the existing programs currently available were too general purpose and thus were awkward to use when simply viewing images sequentially. Update: CDisplay is not actively maintained now. You can also try another free viewer named STDU viewer which also displays a variety of document types including Cbz.

File Archiver

7-Zip – This is an archiver with a very high compression ratio. It has support for 7z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2 and TAR archives. And you can also unpack archives of the following formats – ARJ, CAB, CHM, CPIO, DEB, DMG, HFS, ISO, LZH, LZMA, MSI, NSIS, RAR, RPM, UDF, WIM, XAR and Z. 7-Zip is not just an archiver but also a powerful file manager. It also integrates with the Windows shell which makes it easily accessible via  the right mouse click menu.

Password Manager

Keepass – Is a free open source password manager, which helps you to manage your passwords in a secure way. You can put all your passwords in one database, which is locked with one master key or a key file. So you only have to remember one single master password or select the key file to unlock the whole database. The databases are encrypted using the best and most secure encryption algorithms currently known (AES and Twofish). It’s counterpart in Linux is KeepassX.

Utilities

WinDirStat – This is a disk usage statistics viewer and cleanup tool for Microsoft Windows (98,XP,Vista,Windows 7).  WinDirStat reads the whole directory tree once and then presents it in three useful views namely – the directory list, the treemap and the extension list. This is a very useful tool to hunt down large files  and clean up your hard disk of unwanted files.

Launchy – Is a free windows and linux utility designed to help you forget about your start menu, the icons on your desktop, and even your file manager. Launchy indexes the programs in your start menu and can launch your documents, project files, folders, and bookmarks with just a few keystrokes! So if I have to open a file or program, I can do it with a couple of keystrokes instead of cumbersome navigation through a lengthy menu. Very useful utility.

Free Online Storage

Dropbox – Put simply, Dropbox is awesome. It is a cross platform tool which seamlessly integrates in  Windows, Mac and Linux and allows you to backup, and share all your documents. You get a free 2GB space online . It allows you to sync all your files online and across computers.

There are other free online storage services too. Check them out.

Graphics Editor

GIMP – Stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program. This Free raster image software can be used for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. It rivals Adobe Photoshop in features and is especially suited for editing images for the Web.

Finance Software

GNUCash – Is a personal and small-business financial-accounting software released under GPL. It uses double entry accounting. Designed to be easy to use, yet powerful and flexible, GnuCash allows you to track bank accounts, stocks, income and expenses. As quick and intuitive to use as a checkbook register, it is based on professional accounting principles to ensure balanced books and accurate reports. I use it regularly to keep track of my expenses.

These are just a few of the software I use on a regular basis in Windows, and which I find invaluable. This page will be updated as and when I find more interesting Windows Software.

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