Hi guys. Just thought I'd make a few recommendations for software.

Antivirus
The following are free Antivirus programs that are commonly recommended. All three have realtime scanning features. Remember to only choose ONE Antivirus program to be running all the time.


AVG 8 Free - probably the most well known free Antivirus and it's a decent alternative to the paid stuff.

Antivir Personal - Another decent free AV. Has higher detection rates than AVG although there is a nag screen that pops up everytime it updates.

Avast Home Edition Yet another AV. I haven't used it myself but many people recommend it.


Antispyware/malware
These are standalone scanners that can be run manually.


Malwarebytes Anti-malware - MBAM is a great tool for detecting and removing some pretty stubborn infections.

SUPERAntiSpyware Free - Another good free AS scanner.


Firewall

Comodo Firewall - If you find Windows firewall to not meet your needs, this free alternative is certainly more powerful and configurable... to the extent that it can be annoying in the beggining. Remember to only have on firewall running at one time.


Office

OpenOffice.org - This free open source MS office alternative will more than likely meet your needs. Has a spreadsheet, database, presentation, and word processing program.. and more.


Instant Messaging

Pidgin - Open source IM program that supports a ton of protocols. Even if you just use AIM I would consider switching. Pidgin has no adds, no bundled software, has a cleaner and lighter interface than AIM 6.

Miranda - This ultra light and versatile IM program is highly customizable and is a good alternative for those who don't like pidgin.


Browsers

Mozilla Firefox - Obviously. Most people have already heard of this one, but it's important to list it here.

Apple Safari

Opera

These are all arguably better and safer than Internet Explorer.


Image software


Paint.net - Open source alternative to MS paint. Has ability to work with layers and many other features offered by expensive alternatives.


Gimp - Open source photo manipulation tool. Very powerful tool. See the link provided for more in depth description.




Assorted Software

Quicktime Alternative - Quicktime is awful software in my opinion. Quicktime Alternative is just as it sounds, an alternative.

Virtualbox - Free virtualization software (like VMware or Virtual PC). It's not as full featured as VMware but it gets the job done easily. If your looking to get started with running a virtual machine try Virtualbox. It might suit your needs while costing you nothing.

Foxit Reader - Adobe Reader is another piece of software that I despise. This light and free PDF reader gets the job done with none of the BS that comes along with adobe reader.

ATF Cleaner - Simple temp file cleaner that requires no installation.


Rocketdock - Want a cool dock menu like OS X has? Here you go! Fully customizable and many skins available.


I'm sure there are more I can add but I think this is a good start. Feel free to add your thoughts and suggestions.

AIM Pro (free) is a great IM alternative to standard AIM. It's the 'business user' version of AIM. AIM 6 tilted me so hard, I uninstalled it the same day. AIM Pro is solid.

Excellent work!

Another one that should be on the list is

VMWare Server (Free w/ registration) - Allows you to run multiple "virtual" machine on your computer, great for doing other work on your poker-dedicated machine

I propose that Foxit should be replaced by...

Sumatra PDF - It's lighter and faster than Foxit. It's also open-source.

IM encryption -

Off-the-Record Messaging (OTR) - Open-source plug-in for Pidgin that will encrypt conversations if both parties use it. Also works on Trillian.

Email client -

Thunderbird - Extensible open-source email client by Mozilla. It does for email clients what Firefox did for browsers imo.

I've never seen Sumatra until now. It's nice.

AGV keeps telling me it won't have free updates starting sometime this month.. I was going to start a new topic but I guess I will just try one of the other you mentioned.. Thanks.

Edit: this should be a sticky so maybe op should be updated

You have version 7.x.x. It will stop receiving updates soon. You need to switch to AVG 8 (its free).

Yeah if you download what I linked in the OP and run the installer it will detect you have AVG 7 and automatically uninstall it and update you to 8.

Superduper free VPN software for Win/Lin
Hamachi: https://secure.logmein.com/products/...pn.asp?lang=en

also huge list here: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showthread.php?t=747

hell of a thread McSimmons, very good. Probably will cut down on a lot of repetitious threads.

iConcert - http://www.iconcertcal.com/

goes through your iTunes and finds all the shows that your artists are having. press ctrl-t to switch between your regular music library and the iConcert calendar

this program is really unknown but VERY awesome for any music lover.

Great thread. Someone should sticky this! A+

Here's an alternative to itunes.

Yamipod

a reply to my above post.. it's not exactly an alternative to itunes as a player... but for managing your ipod songs it works nicely.

Great list F. McSimmons.

PS: Opera owns Firefox.

Great thread. Well done, OP.

v nice thread

Is this software realiable "Malwarebytes Anti-malware "? I just scanned my computer with it and some weird blue screen pop up saying that it was caused by something I installed recently and my computer needed to be restarted. I didn't get a virus or anything right?

Awesome, won't need to install bloaty itunes on my newly formatted PC, thanks

I'm surprised that no one's mentioned Spybot yet, it's a great little program for general spyware removal purposes. It's free ofc

Unlikely, to be a virus.

It is probably just that the program needed to restart to kick in properly.

If you are seriously unhappy then try system restore to undo the change you have made.

Will most of these or any of these work on Vista?

FYP

Flock Browser

I personally don't like Opera, but feel free to add it to the list.

As for spybot, I feel it's kind of an old tool. It's still a decent free alternative, but I just do a weekly scan with MBAM and consider myself fine.

MBAM is a really great tool, I'm confused of what your problem is gguz... please elaborate.

I've used mostly every one of these on Vista.

MBAM is definitely trustworty. It's kind of becoming a standard for malware removal, like HiJackThis.

Well HJT and MBAM are completely different tools. HJT should only be used under the guidance of somebody who knows what they are doing with it. MBAM is safe for pretty much anybody.