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Goal: Best Freeware in Category

Updated Feb 7, 2010.

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I recommend Microsoft Security Essentials antivirus coupled with Immunet Protect Cloud antivirus. Immunet is designed to work with many real time antivirus programs and provides an extra layer of immediate cloud protection when viruses are discovered, rather than wait for virus updates. Those two programs along with the Windows firewall give you very good protection while being the lightest suite on resources and least intrusive. Load them and forget them...what a relief it is to not have to tweak or get abundant notifications.

2009 Bearware Top 10 Programs of the Year

1. Anti Virus/Spyware  Microsoft Security EssentialsMicrosoft Security Essentials provides real-time protection for your home PC that guards against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software. Microsoft have finally proved that it’s possible to create an anti-virus product which doesn’t take 3 days to download or fill your hard disk and uses less than 8MB of RAM and rarely registers any CPU activity which is quite impressive. Size 11MB. Win XP/Vista/7.
2. File Search  EverythingFile and folder search program utilizing the existing NTFS file system index enabling it to be the fastest. Does not search within files. Win 2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
3. File Synchronizer/clone  FreeFileSyncVery intuitive fast back-up or synchronzing program for drive, folder or file sync. It will also mirror/clone a drive to another drive, even if that drive is smaller. To choose that option, click the gear icon to the left of the Synchronize button and choose mirror. For the portable version, download the zip file, unzip it into a folder and put it on your removable media. Win 2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
4. Internet TV  Hulu DesktopHulu Desktop is a media center type of application, like Front Row or Boxee or Netflix or Windows Media Center, that gives you full access to Hulu.com with an Apple Remote or Windows Media remote or just your keyboard and mouse. In other words, freed from the constraints of the browser, it is like real TV. The app is beautiful, fast, easy to navigate and simply amazing. It is everything you would expect from Hulu. Win XP/Vista/2008/7.
5. Password and Form Filler  LastPassI recommend this solution for automated password management, and form filler. The LastPass password is the last password you will ever have to remember, and you can start using very secure passwords without worrying about forgetting or managing them. Win 95/98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
6. Program Launcher  SlickRunSlickRun is a free floating command line utility for Windows. SlickRun gives you almost instant access to any program or website. SlickRun allows you to create command aliases (known as MagicWords), so C:\Program Files\Outlook Express\msimn.exe becomes MAIL. Enter a web URL into SlickRun and it will launch your browser and navigate to the specified address. Run multiple programs in a few keystrokes, jot a note, look up a definition... SlickRun is the most natural way to interact with your computer. You can type any command you would normally type in the Start/run or command line without having to create a magic word. My personal favorite. Win 2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
7. Uninstaller  RevoUninstallerExcellent uninstall utility that includes additional system clean-up tools after the uninstall. Also Portable. Win 2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
8. Video/Audio Capture  TubeMaster++TubeMaster++ is a powerful tool which can capture multimedia files you are watching or listening from your internet browser (FLV,MP3,MP4). Captured files can be saved directly on your computer or converted to other popular video or audio formats (AVI, MPEG, MP3, MP4, IPod, PSP ...). Websites examples : YouTube, DailyMotion, MySpace, Google Videos, LastFM, Deezer, Jiwa, Songza, and many others. Powerful search engines are also integrated to find videos or audio (mp3) files directly from the software. If you are a music lover, Tubemaster++ coupled with GrooveShark is about as good as it gets. Requires Java Runtime Environment and WinPcap both included in the installation. Win 2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.   Bearpaw

DemoA short demonstration of the program created with Screen2exe. 4mb.
9. Video Player/Recorder VLCVLC is the Swiss Army knife of media players: it will play pretty much any file type you throw at it, as well as rip CDs and DVDs, convert video files to iPod-friendly formats and stream media to other computers. For Portable mode, download the zip file and extract the files to a folder of your choice. Win 95/98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
10. Web Browser Google ChromeGoogle Chrome is a browser based on Open Source programming that combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the web faster, safer, and easier. This is my browser of choice. You can opt out of sending usage statistics and use unchrome if you wish to anonymize the browser. Win XP/Vista/2008/7.

Bearware Favorites

Anti Malware Scanner  Superantispyware PortableSUPERAntiSpyware is an anti-spyware/anti-malware product that is well known amongst computer technicians. SAS just got even better by officially releasing a portable version of their product. The portable version is almost identical to the installed version in the way that it deals with malware, except that it downloads as a single, portable file. When you download the portable version from the official website, you will probably notice it has a strange file name like “SAS-4325.COM”. The reason for this is because the last 4 numbers of the file name are random. This helps prevent some of the nastier infections from closing SAS Portable when it runs. SAS Portable also comes as a .COM file instead of a .EXE file because many infections will try to prevent .EXE files from running, so it has those bases covered. SUPERAntiSpyware Portable is free, updates easily and is definitely a tool you will want to keep on your USB drive to deal with malware infections. This is a manual scanner, no real time protection. Size: 9.4mb. Win 2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
Anti Malware Scanner  MalwarebytesMalwarebytes has developed a variety of tools that can identify and remove malicious software from your computer. When your computer becomes infected, Malwarebytes can provide the needed assistance to remove the infection and restore the machine back to optimum performance. The free trial version (blue download button) is free and will remain free according to Dustin Cook, Malwarebytes malware researcher. This is a manual scanner, no real time protection. Win 95/98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
Anti Virus/Spyware  Microsoft Security EssentialsMicrosoft Security Essentials provides real-time protection for your home PC that guards against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software. Personally recommended. Size 11MB. Win XP/Vista/7.
Anti Virus-Cloud  Immunet ProtectI've tested most of the cloud antivirus products and find Immunet to be the best of the lot. What makes it stand out the most is the fact it can be run on top of your existing AV (or stand alone) so you get the best of both, only takes 8mb disk space and scans are blazing fast (1 minute). You should register to get all of the community options though it does not affect the level of cloud-based and community-based protections that Immunet Protect offers by design if you do not register. I'm running Microsoft Security Essentials along with Immunet with no problems. Personally recommended. Size: 8mb. Win All.
Archiver  ZipGeniusZipGenius is a powerful zip tool that offers support for more than 20 different compression formats, including 7zip, ZIP64, UPX and many others. It supports drag and drop, 5 compression levels, full customization and integration in Windows Explorer. The program also comes with a built in FTP client that allows to download and upload files from within the software. The signature features allows you to add your signature and contact information to any zip file you create. ZipGenius also supports the creation of self-extracting exe files, complete with custom setup launch and icon. ZipGenius also comes with additional features like encryption, scanner support (acquire pictures and zip them into files), backup, statistics, download time calculator, disk spanning, file export, support for OpenOffice and more. It can also interact with your Pocket PC device. Very nice! Size: 5775 kb. Win 95/98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
Audio Editor  AudacityRecord live audio or convert/edit tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs. Win 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista/2008/7.
Audio Player  FooBarAdvanced audio player for most audio formats, tagging and transcoding capabilities. Portable mode. Win 2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
Clipboard  Ditto-cpDitto is a portable clipboard manager with unlimited saves of clipboard and use a SQqlite database to store data or images, anything you can normally copy with the Windows clipboard. It is very easy to use, extensible and configurable. Win 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista/2008/7.
Copy Anything/Reminder  QuotepadWith Quotepad, just select some text in any application, press Ctrl+Shift+Q and the selected text will be saved to QuotePad together with the URL of the webpage or the title of the document it was copied from. It stores the selections inside quotepad for future use. Reminders, quick filtering, automatic backup, timestamping, checklist, and print. Highly recommended. Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista/2008/7. Portable install option.   Bearpaw

DemoA short demonstration of the program created with Screen2exe.
DeskTop Icons IconoidSave and Restore Icon positions for each (or every) screen resolution and more. Win 95/98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
DeskTop FencesFences is a one-of-a-kind program, allowing you to draw labeled shaded areas on your desktop, which become movable and resizable containers for your desktop icons. These groups can help bring organization and consistency to your computer's desktop, solving the constant mess problem that has plagued the desktop since its inception. Fences also helps you finally appreciate the wallpaper you have hiding behind all that clutter. In addition to its organizing features, Fences offers a novel quick-hide feature. Double click your desktop, and all your icons will fade out. Double click again, and they'll return. Size: 6.31m. Requires .Net 2.0 for XP. Win XP/Vista/2008/7. Bearpaw

DemoA short demonstration of the program created with Screen2exe.
Dictionary  WordWebExcellent English thesaurus and dictionary for Windows, and performs pronunciation. Win 98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
DVD Burner  ImgBurnBurn an ISO image to a CD. Excellent CD / DVD / HD DVD / Blu-ray burning application. Win 95/98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
DVD Recovery  UnstoppableCopierRecovers files from disks with physical damage. Win 95/98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
DVD Ripper  WinX DVD RipperWinX DVD Ripper is a free software program that facilitates ripping the content of a DVD to computer hard disk drive and converting to popular video formats. It supports all types of DVDs including normal DVDs, CSS protected DVDs, commercial DVDs, Sony ArccOS DVDs, all region 1-6 DVDs and most of popular video formats such as FLV, AVI, MP4, WMV, MOV, MPEG1/2 as output video formats. This may be the easiest and best yet solution to make backup copies of your DVD's. Win 98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
Email Client  ThunderbirdEmail client most used with Firefox. Win 98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
Encryption  TrueCryptTrueCrypt can create an encrypted container in a file or encrypt an entire hard disk partition or storage device such as USB flash drive. Win XP/Vista/2008/7.   Bearpaw

TutorialTutorials on all aspects of how to use Gimp.
Image Editor  PhotoFiltreAmazing complete image editing and effects package. Win 2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
Image Editor  IrFanViewGreat graphics viewer and editor. The most popular. Win 98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
Image Viewer  FastStoneIVFast Stone Image Viewer. Best image viewer in its class. Win 95/98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
Installer  NiniteWhen you go to the Ninite Web site, you're presented with a huge list of excellent, free programs to check off. You're creating a customized installer package that, once you're done, saves to your system in the form of a single executable. Run that, and the Ninite-created installation package will install every program you selected onto your machine using said program's default settings. What used to take hours of finding, downloading, and installing now takes the better part of minutes. Ninite does not install itself on your machine. Win XP/Vista/2008/7.
Internet Radio  RadioSureRadioSure is an elegantly simple Internet radio program. More than 12000 of stations in the package, Supports most of the internet radio formats. Quick and reliable search for your favorite radio stations, Smooth switching between stations including crossfade effect, Recording what you are listening to and packaging it into separate song files, Simultanious recording of multiple stations, Automatic checking for software and radio stations updates, Command line parameters for automatization, with UNICODE support...all domestic stations are perfectly visible and searchable. Also Portable. Size: 2.08MB. Windows XP/Vista/2008/7.
Internet TV  Hulu DesktopHulu Desktop is a media center type of application, like Front Row or Boxee or Netflix or Windows Media Center, that gives you full access to Hulu.com with an Apple Remote or Windows Media remote or just your keyboard and mouse. In other words, freed from the constraints of the browser, it is like real TV. The app is beautiful, fast, easy to navigate and simply amazing. It is everything you would expect from Hulu. Win XP/Vista/2008/7.
Media Converter  Format FactoryMultifunctional media converter support converting all popular video, audio, picture formats to others. Repair damaged video and audio file. Reducing Multimedia file size. Support iphone,ipod multimedia file formats. Picture converting supports Zoom,Rotate/Flip,tags. DVD Ripper. Win 95/98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
Mouse Gesture  High SignHigh Sign is an application that allows you to easily create and map custom mouse gestures to perform common actions on their Windows PC. Unlike some other mouse gesture recognition software, you are not limited to a set of predefined gestures; you are free to create any gesture you can think up. The original idea for High Sign was to be a complete StrokeIt alternative, but since High Sign's birth, the vision has changed dramatically for it to become so much more. Once you install it, click on Start, Programs and a shortcut for High Sign will be there. Run the program, right click its icon in the tray and uncheck training mode, and look at the available actions. Hold the right mouse button down and draw the gesture (you can even hold the right button down and draw on the mouse pad if you have one.) Size: 820 kb. Win 2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.   Bearpaw

DemoA short demonstration of the program created with Screen2exe.
Music Manager TeenSpiritAudio-Video player and organizer that can retrieve info from internet such as lyrics, album reviews etc. Win 2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
Office Suite OpenOfficeMultiplatform complete office suite compatible with all other major office suites. Win 95/98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7. Bearpaw

DemoA short demonstration of the program created with Screen2exe.
Spell Checker TinySpellA small utility that allows you to easily and quickly check and correct the spelling in any Windows application. TinySpell can watch your typing on the fly and alert you whenever it detects a misspelled word. It can also check the spelling of text that you copy to the clipboard. TinySpell installs itself in the system tray for easy access. It comes with an American-English dictionary containing more than 110,000 words. Win 95/98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
Text Automation TexterText substitution application, Texter saves you countless keystrokes by replacing abbreviations with commonly used phrases you define. Addresses, email, html code, clipboard, just about anything. Runs in the system tray and works on anything you can type text in. Win 95/98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7. Bearpaw

DemoA short demonstration of the program created with Screen2exe.
Translator Client for Google TranslateClient for Google Translate is a free translator which translates text in every Windows application such as Outlook, MS Word, Internet Explorer, Firefox and so on. After installing you will see Client for Google Translate in the system tray and every time you want to translate some text, all you have to do is click the tray icon to activate it (turns from blue to orange) and select the text you wish to translate (auto language detection) and a little G icon will appear by the selected text, click that and the selection will be translated instantly! With this tool, you can easily carry on a conversation with someone in a different language. Size: 2mb. Win 98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7. Bearpaw

DemoA short demonstration.
Uninstaller RevoUninstallerExcellent uninstall utility that includes additional system clean-up tools after the uninstall. Also Portable. Win 2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
Video/Audio Capture TubeMaster++TubeMaster++ is a powerful tool which can capture multimedia files you are watching or listening from your internet browser (FLV,MP3,MP4). Captured files can be saved directly on your computer or converted to other popular video or audio formats (AVI, MPEG, MP3, MP4, IPod, PSP ...). Websites examples : YouTube, DailyMotion, MySpace, Google Videos, LastFM, Deezer, Jiwa, Songza, and many others. Powerful search engines are also integrated to find videos or audio (mp3) files directly from the software. If you are a music lover, Tubemaster++ coupled with GrooveShark is about as good as it gets. Requires Java Runtime Environment and WinPcap both included in the installation. Win 2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7. Bearpaw

DemoA short demonstration of the program created with Screen2exe. 4mb.
Video Editor  VirtualDubAmazingly easy to split, join, and capture AVI video with high quality results. Win 95/98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
Video Editor  AvidemuxAdvidemux is a video and audio editor used for simple cutting, filtering and encoding. Win 95/98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
Video Player/Recorder  VLCVLC is the Swiss Army knife of media players: it will play pretty much any file type you throw at it, as well as rip CDs and DVDs, convert video files to iPod-friendly formats and stream media to other computers. For Portable mode, download the zip file and extract the files to a folder of your choice. Win 95/98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
Virtual CD/DVD  Virtual CloneDriveVirtual CloneDrive works and behaves just like a physical CD/DVD drive, however it exists only virtually. Image files generated with CloneDVD or CloneCD can be mounted onto a virtual drive from your hard-disk or from a network drive and used in the same manner as inserting them into a normal CD/DVD drive. Supports all common image formats such as ISO, BIN, CCD. Supports up to 8 virtual drives at the same time. Easy to use, just doubleclick an image file to mount as a drive. Windows 98/98SE/ME/2000/XP/XP64/VISTA/VISTA64.
Virtual Surfing  SandboxiePrevents malware loading on hardrive by surfing in a virtual sandbox. 2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
Volume Controller  VolumouseVolumouse provides you a quick and easy way to control the sound volume on your system - simply by rolling the wheel of your wheel mouse. It allows you to define a set of rules for determining when the wheel will be used for changing the sound volume. For example: You can configure Volumouse to use your mouse wheel for volume control when the Alt key is hold down, when the left mouse button is down, when the mouse cursor is over the taskbar, and so on. When the conditions that you define are not satisfied, your mouse wheel will be used for the regular scrolling tasks, exactly as before. Portable mode. Size: 80 kb. Win 98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7.
Web Browser  Google ChromeGoogle Chrome is a browser based on Open Source programming that combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the web faster, safer, and easier. This is my browser of choice. You can opt out of sending usage statistics and use unchrome if you wish to anonymize the browser. Win XP/Vista/2008/7.

The above programs are my personal favorites and in my opinion the best of the best.

All of the programs listed on this site have been reviewed and extensively researched by me, and I believe they are the top contenders in each of the categories. If you believe there is a better program than what I have listed, please let me know. I will review the program and make a decision. This site is for you and you may help make it better.

Please notice there is absolutely no monetization whatsoever on this site.

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Audio DVD/CD Education/Home Email File Management Games Graphics Hard Drive Internet Office Parental Portable Security Utility Video Web Development

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