My favourite free software 2009 edition

I thought it was time to share with you an updated list of what I consider to be some of the best free Windows software out there right now (in no particular order) that I still use:

Irfanview - a great image viewer program that can change picture formats, resize, do basic image effects and colour correction. I use it to format the images I use on this blog.

Audacity - the best free audio editing program out there. I use it to make my mp3 files louder, edit my interviews, it's a great piece of software.

VLC Media Player - plays everything. I'm serious.

Super - if you have audio or video in one format and wish to change it to another, Super is the deal.

Firefox - simply a great alternate browser to Internet Explorer (what comes with Windows). Its best features are its customization and extensions. It was one of the first tabbed browsers, but that's a common feature now. If you're looking for a highly customized, fast, secure, stable browser, Firefox is it.

Filezilla - the perfect utilitarian free FTP program.

Autoruns - some versions of Windows allow you to change what starts up at every boot-up with built in tools (msconfig), but Autoruns does it on all versions with no sass. Disable and re-enable what starts with Windows with ease.

AVG Antivirus - forget paying for the likes of Norton and McAfee. AVG is free and it works. No - it's not perfect (there's no such thing), but if you are in the habit of practising safe computing, this anti-virus program is lean and will never (in my experience) cause any problems on your computer. The only thing I find annoying about AVG now is that they have gotten more aggressive about selling their paid version. You don't need it.

KeePass - you know how important it is to have good passwords. You also know that using the same password for multiple sites is bad news. But how to organize and keep track of all those passwords? With KeePass, that's how.

CDBurnerXP - I gave up on Nero years ago after I discovered CDBurnerXP. One of the features I took advantage of right away (at work no less) was its ability to save a compilation as an ISO image file. If you don't know why that's a good feature, it's OK.

SyncToy - this is a free synchronization utility from Microsoft (Windows Genuine Advantage required). It only works on XP - SP2. This program can copy, move, rename, and delete files between any number of folders and computers. The program operates on the principal of pre-defined folder pairs. You define and name these pairs and then when you want to perform
a sync or other task, you recall one of these pairs and carry out the operation. Syncing can be in either direction and covers all options from complete sync to updating newer files only. SyncToy requires the .NET framework.

CrossLoop - when you need to help someone with their computer (assuming their ability to connect to the internet still works), but you don't have the time to go over in person, CrossLoop is wonderful tool. Simply get them to install it on their system and give you the private connect key and you're controlling their PC while explaining stuff over the phone. Firewall friendly too.

SIW - a great, free system information utility. It gives detailed information about your computer properties and settings, detailed specs for CPU, motherboard, chipset, BIOS, CPU, PCI/AGP, USB and ISA/PnP devices, memory, monitor, video card, disk drives, CD/DVD devices, SCSI devices, S.M.A.R.T., ports, network cards, printers, operating system, installed programs and hotfixes, processes, services, serial numbers (CD keys), users, open files, system uptime, network, network shares, as well as real-time monitors for CPU, memory, page file usage and network traffic. It displays currently active network connections, passwords hidden behind asterisks, installed codecs, and more. Best of all - it's stand-alone, meaning you don't have to install it.