ESSENTIAL SOFTWARE (This
page is pretty much outdated, so the advice is too. But I'm going to leave it here for now, until I get a chance to update
it.)
I consider the software below the Minimum you need to add to Windows to safely enjoy using a computer.
Acrobat Reader- With
free Adobe® Acrobat® Reader® software, you can view and print Adobe PDF files across a broad range of hardware and operating
systems.
Ad-aware- Ad-aware
is a free multi-spyware removal tool that detects and safely removes components of advertising parasites from your system.
AVG- With AVG, you will get
the high-end software solution for reliable protection against the threat of computer viruses. Unlimited free license for
personal use.
Easy Cleaner- EasyCleaner is a small freeware program which searches Windows' registry for entries that are pointing nowhere.
Deleting these entries will speed your computer up. And more.
EndItAll2- EndItAll2 is Freeware that lets you terminate all non-essential
programs for the purpose of installing new software, running finicky games, or writing to CD-Rs that need a big buffer.
Irfanview- IrfanView
is a very fast FREEWARE (for non-commercial use) 32-Bit graphic viewer for Windoze 9x, Windoze ME, Windows NT and Windows
2000.
ZipGenius-
Not only zip and unzip but also scanner, email, web, ftp, safety, data protection, backup, mp3, multimedia.
RegClean- RegClean
is a small and very handy little freeware utility that loads and scans your registry for errors and other superfluous
items.
ZoneAlarm- ZoneAlarm
is a free computer firewall that is compatible with Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000.
OTHER SOFTWARE NOTE: The "Other Software" list was compiled from a thread
posted at the pcnineoneone- forum.