Software and Utilities - Free-to-download recommended software

Software - All free to download and use

12ft Ladder - Bypass paywall by putting 12ft.io/ before www
7-Zip
- Superb free zip compression software for zip, rar etc.
- Command Line User's Guide
ActivePresenter - Brilliant free Screen Recorder, Video Editor & eLearning Authoring Software
Android Apps

- 3G Watchdog
- AContact
- Advanced Contact
- ADW Launcher
- CX File Explorer - Exchange Rates
- Flashlight
- KIK Messenger
- Metrostation Icon Pack
- Missed Call - Notes
- Organized Drawer
- Quick Settings
- Quickpic - Shush! Ringer Restorer
- SIM Contacts
- SMS Popup
- Spirit Level
- Reboot - Timeriffic|
- Trello To Do
- Viber
- Watchdog
- Wifi Analyser

Alarm Clock
Agent Ransack Lite - Advanced File Search for PC
Antivirus + Malware Detection:
- AntiVir Personal Edition - Pretty reliable but annoying popup advert
- AVG - Excellent detection and deletion; installs trial version but can downgrade to free version.
- Exterminate It - The best malware detector. Need to manually delete detected files unless upgrade to full version
- GMER scans computer for rootkits malware
- Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware (MBAM) widely recommended. Fully working trial version.
- RKill terminates any running malware/virus processes allowing them to be uninstalled
- Trendmicro Housecall Spyware Detection - scans and fixes for spyware, adware and hidden tracking software.
- Virus Total - Online virus scanner/fixer
Brave. An alternative fast browser for mobile phones.
CDBurnerXP is a free alternative to Nero or other CD Burning software
CutePDF creates a virtual printer to allow you to create pdf files by simply printing your document to it
Desktop Publishing Software has a couple of suggestions for free software
Easy Gif Animator
- Excellent animated gif editor; trial version allows 20 uses
eBooks:
- Calibre - the best eBook library and converter software available for free (epub, mobi)
      - Portable version
- ePub Readers - Top four apps for your desktop
- Stanza Desktop converts many formats into ePub format
Fastone Image Viewer
- A small, fast and easy to use image viewer and editor
- Features include: supports all major formats, convert picture, red-eye, slideshow, wallpaper,
                           large number of effects and tools, EXIT editing, emailing utilities
Fast User Switch portable allows quick switch between users without logging off
Favicon/Icon Creators: DynamicDrive FavIcon, IconMaker Online, RedKetchup (From Text)
Filezilla Portable
Firefox Portable - the best internet browser with numerous add-ons to suit your needs.
Foxit Reader - A super alternative to Adobe pdf Reader that won't slow your PC down and use 100+Mb of disk space.
Gif Resize Online
Gmail Labs: Top Ten Useful Labs
Google Chrome Portable
gPhotoShow - A great screensaver that gives more control over how photos are displayed
gPodder Portable - podcast downloader with many configuration options
- How to move download folder
- Use RBTray to minimise for version 2.0 onwards
Image Resizer - Batch converter to change the size and properties of image files such as jpg
iPad Printing to Non-Airprint Printer
Javascript Editor - easy to use GUI for javascript coding
Moovly - Animated cartoon creator with wide range of templates. 1 month free Ts.
- Alternatives: Animiz (Portable Vsn), Rawshorts
myImager.com - a great online image editor including gif transparency
Notepad++ Portable replaces Windows notepad with a much better text editor
- Aspell spellchecker plugin
Online OCR - Convert pdf and jpg to word
OpenDNS - speed up web browsing with a faster DNS service
Open Shell Menu (Previously Classic Shell) - Give standard windows menu for windows 10
Paint.NET- A greatly superior image editor to the standard 'Paint' that comes with Windows
- Bend Text Plug-in
- Bulk Image Processor add-on allows multiple images to be processed at same time (resize etc.)
- Grim Color Reaper allows paint bucket function with eraser i.e. create transparent background
Panorama Perfect - Create superb panoramic images from your photos
Passport Photo Generator Online
PDF995
- Convert all your Office documents to pdf format simply by printing them to the 'pdf995' printer
- Quick and simple to use. You need to install the printer driver and converter software as instructed
    (The software contains advertising that can only be removed by purchasing a license. If you prefer
      non-advert software use PrimoPDF, but the files it creates are quite a bit bigger)
PDF Creator converts files to pdf format
PDF Split and Merge - A great tools for merging pdfs together or removing pages from them
- Enhanced Version includes editing and creating
- Portable Version
PDF to FLASH Online Converter
PDF to JPG Converter
Photo Story
- A free slide show editor, quick and easy to use, great for kids to make their own projects
- Features include: slide effects, music embedding, auto-fadeout of music, special effects
Pixelfusion
- Windows Media Player plugin that sharpens low resolution downloaded videos
Playlist Creator
- Gives great flexibility to create playlists automatically
PotPlayer plays most form of multimedia including streaming Youtube + more control than VLC
Puzzles - Portable Collection includes many old school and new logic games
Quicktime Alternative and K_Lite_Codec_Pack
- A superior alternative to Quicktime.
- Uninstall Quicktime and install both these to browse and play Quicktime videos.
Quillbot AI Detector - Parses text and highlights which bits are AI
Real Alternative (Includes Media Player)
- A great and superior alternative to Realplayer. Uninstall Realplayer and replace with this.
RotatePDF.net - online rotation of pdf files
SaveFromNet - Download youtube etc. by putting 'ss' after www. e.g. www.ssyoutube.com/...
Scan2PDF
- An excellent free application that does exactly what it says it does
Shortcuts Search and Replace use with How to find all shortcuts to a file/application to batch change mapped drive shortcuts
SMPlayer - Video Player for All Formats
Subtitle Generator (Online): Riverside.FM
Thunderbird Portable - the best email client around, a great alternative to Outlook
TiltShiftMaker - creates tiltshift photos online from your photo uploads
Torrents:
- Searches: Torrentz, Top Ten Sites, Search Engines List
- uTorrent is a super fast torrent downloader
- Vuze is a useful tools for finding torrents but is rather slow to download them
      - Meta search sites to add to Vuze to find torrents
Utilities for advanced power users.
Video Conversion/Editing:
- Any Video Convertor
- Avidemux Portable
- How to Make Videos Smaller With No Lost Quality
Video Volume Booster
VLC Media Player plays most form of multimedia with more control than windows media player
VPN:
- Best Services
- Best Servies for Privacy
- Shadowsocks / ShadowRocket: VPN for mobile phones in China
WavePad Music Editor
- Very easy to use music editor.
- Features include: cut, copy, delete, insert, silence, trim, fade in/out, change speed,
                             change pitch, split.
- Don't install 'Recorder' and 'Switch as they stop working after a 14 day trial period.
Website Development
- Blogger.com Very easy to use, lots of designs to select and step-by-step guides on how to do it.
- Google Sites easy to use with 100Mb storage, but with limited selection of layouts
- Pbwiki.com easy to use and setup, but only 10Mb free space
- Wordpress.com 3Gb of storage with easy to use interface
Winamp
- Great alternative to Media Player with superior library and more efficient memory use.
- Add-ons:
      - Find File On Disk adds 'Explore Item Folder' to the item in Media Library
      - FLAC adds ability to play .flac files
      - Shutdown after playlist has ended
Wordle - Create word clouds from website content
Zamzar - online document conversion (multiple formats)
Zip Repair - Fix corrupt zip files
Zoho Show - Online PowerPoint ppt Editor
Zonealarm Firewall
- The best firewall around and what's more it's easy to use and free!
- If you aren't using a firewall or are only using the XP firewall then you MUST get this.

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Firefox Portable

Firefox Portable (Old Versions)
- The best internet browser around. Faster, safer and easier to use that Internet Explorer.
- Features include: multi-site home page, tabbed browsing (view 10+ sites a the same time),
                           favourites search, fully customisable, take it on a memory stick when you travel.
- Copy it onto a memory stick and you can use it anywhere in the world!
- Add-ons add even more useful functions and options to Firefox.
      - ** v59 Quantum Add-on compatability list
      - Adblock Plus automatically blocks adverts in websites
          - Install EasyPrivacy, Antisocial and Malware Domains subscriptions
      - Adblock For Youtube stops intro and popup adverts
      - Autocopy automatically copies highlighted text to clipboard
      - Better Gmail 2 adds functionality to your online gmail acount
      - Block Twitter Promoted and BlockZilla stop promotion tweets at top of list
      - Bookmark Favicon Changer allows you to personalise the icon for your bookmarks
          - Development version is here.
      - Brief is a fantastic an easy to use RSS news feed manager
           (v1.6 beta needed for firefox 9 or try Forked version)
          - Firefox CSS has lots of great CSS hacks an advice
          - Force Firefox to always use Brief for new RSS
          - Get RSS:
              - From Any Webpage: Feed43
              - From Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud etc.: GetRSSFeed, Podcast Extractor
              - From Youtube: Channel/User, Playlists
      - Bypass Paywalls gives access to subscription newspapers (Chrome Version)
    - Chinese Pop-up Translator allows Chinese website text to be translated into English
      - Consent-O-Matic auto fills in cookie request popups
      - Control Panel for Twitter restores old twitter format and removes new X branding
      - Cookie Remover deletes all cookies for a website when clicked
      - DeskCut creates a shortcut to the current page on your desktop
      - Disconnect disables background tracking cookies and greatly increases speed
      - Download Status Bar (S3) displays the progress of your downloads at the bottom of the screen
          - Download Status Bar for older versions of firefox
      - Firetune quickly optimises Forefox for your computer and internet connection
      - FireFTP for simple easy to use FTP client
      - Flashblock automatically stops those annoying adverts from starting
      - Forecastfox displays weather forecasts at the bottom of the screen
      - Hide Menubar hides the File/Edit menubar and show sit when ALT is pressed
      - IE Tab 2 allows you to display a website using Internet Explorer
      - LeechBlock is a time management tool that controls when and how long you have access to websites
    - Menu Editor allows right-click context menus to be tidied and setup as you want them
      - MinimiseToTray puts Firefox and its sub-windows into the system tray
    - Multirow Bookbark Toolbar replaces >> to right of toolbar with 2 or more lines of items
      - Multifox allows multiple Hotmail accounts to be open at the same time
      - NoUn Buttons lets you change the circle back button to the old-style square format
      - Omnibar integrates the search into the address bar in Firefox 4
      - Open in Chrome
      - Pdf Download enables background download of .pdf files instead of waiting for them to load
      - Pocket is a brilliant extension that lets you save pages for later online or offline reading
      - Right2Click restores right-click if website disables it via javascript
      - Show My Password does exactly what it says on the tin.
      - ~~Stylish lets you use css to adjust websites. Old Vsns here. (New vsn not very good)~~
        (Firefox has withdrawn this app as latest versions were collecting browsing histories)
          - User styles Extractor (Drag and Drop stylish.sqllite)
      - Stylus lets you use css to adjust websites to your personal preference
          - CSS Coding Reference Sheet
    - Tab Mix Plus has even more customisable options for tabbed browsing
          - Development version is here.
      - ~~Video DownloadHelper~~ lets you download youtube and other videos to mp3 from toolbar
      - Xmarks Sync is a great utility to sync bookmarks and passwords across multiple computers
          - Development version is here.
      - ~~Youtube MP3 Podcaster~~ lets you download youtube videos to mp3 from embedded buttons
          - Developer Website is here.
- Advanced Add Ons:
      - Edit Cookies edits individual cookie entries
    - Firebug for developers to investigate, change and test all objects on a web page
    - FoxyProxy lets you swap proxy quickly via the status bar
      - Link Checker checks your webpage links
      - Gspace allows ftp to gmail
      - Mr Techs Toolkit - allows more control of extensions
          - If won't install, download Beta xpi rename to .zip, edit install file to higher firefox version
      - Preferences Monitor speeds up firefox by deleting irrelevant settings
      - Vacuum urlclassifer.sqlite to reduce size of database file
- FF v29 Hacks
      - Classic Theme Restorer allows you to adjust the look and feel of Firefox
      - Classic Bookmark Button reverts to old style bookmarks
      - Squared Autralis Tabs reverts to old style tabs
- FF v86 Hacks
      - Disable Auto Update
- Hacks
      - 5 Tips to Reduce Memory Usage
      - Increase Speed (Firefox 3)
      - Install Flash Portable
      - Make Firefox your default browser in Vista
      - Make Firefox your default browser in XP
      - Remove Reader Button in Search Bar
      - Run Multiple Instances
      - SQLite Compact
      - Turn off Office Animations
      - Unsigned Addons Enable
      - Unresponsive plugin (Shockwave Flash Player)
- Plug-Ins
      - *** Check current version of all installed plug-ins
      - Adobe Flashplayer and Shockwave Player, essential for your browsing experience.
             (Check your current version of the players here and here)
             (Manual install here and here)
          - Global Settings
          - Plugin Hanging Solution - dom.ipc.plugins.hangUITimeoutSecs
      - Quicktime Alternative (Test your version here)
      - Silverlight
      - Windows Media Player (Test it here)

Thunderbird Portable

Thunderbird Portable
- Fabulous, free email software that is a great replacement for outlook.
- Move it onto a memory stick and you can access your emails anywhere in the world!
- Add-ons (Add even more useful functions and options to Thunderbird.)
      - Attachment Extractor make sit easy to download all downloads
      - Change Quote and Reply Format customises the test used at the top of inline replies
      - Edit Sender lets you change the details of underlying the account you are using to send the email.
      - Filtaquilla adds more mail filter options such as 'Train as Junk'
          - Help site for advanced configuration
      - Folderpane allows thunderbird to always open to inbox folder
      - JunQuilla allows more control of junk filters
      - Lightning upgrades Thunderbird to include calendar and events.
      - Manually Sort Folders give more control over folder layout and default to Inbox on open
      - Menu Editor allows all menus to be edited, reordered and personalised
      - More Functions For Address Book adds extra import/export/copy and birthday functionality.
      - Quick Move Button creates 2 buttons that you can add to the toolbar to quickly move email to a folder.
      - Quicktext allows pre-determined / favourite text to be quickly inserted into emails.
      - Quote + Compose Manager gives options to edit the way in which replies are presented.
      - ScheduleWorld syncs your contacts, calender and events between PCs and also with Outlook.
      - Send Filter runs message filters on the sent folder when mail is sent
      - Show Folder Size tells you the disc space used for a particular mail folder
      - Toolbar Buttons adds many useful toolbar buttons including Return Receipt / Edit as New
          - If won't install after update, download file, rename xpi to .zip, edit install file to higher firefox version
      - Webmail give access to Hotmail/Yahoo/Gmail/AOL email
- Hacks
      - Change order of accounts in Account Manager
      - Hide 'Unable to connect' messages
      - How to View MBOX mail files
      - Make Thunderbird your default email client in Vista
      - Shared inbox for all accounts

Utilities

.NET Framework
Adobe Settings Manager Online lets you disable Flash Player automatic update
AoA Audio Extractor creates mp3 from video files
Allway Sync synchronises your files with an external, virtual or network drive
Auslogics Disk Defrag defrags your hard disk to improve speed
Bulk File Changer allows manual editing of file properties
Cablenut optimises your internet connection
Cacheman improves the speed of your computer
CCleaner deletes temporary files, history, caches and cleans the registry
Cursor .cur Creator from png
Default Programs Editor allows you to change file associations including edit
DFX Audio Enhancer, a PC amplifier if speakers are too quiet
EasyCleaner makes it easy to clean and monitor your computer's setup
Excel Password Remover 2011
Excel File Validation - How to Disable
File Renamer for batch renaming on 64bit computers (use Rname-It otherwise)
File Association Management (add edit associations to file types not already setup):
- Default Programs Editor
- File Types Manager (Not Needed in Win10: Start-Change the File Type)
- File Types Editor (No longer available from Sapien)
FreeRIP converts audio CD to MP3 or WAV
GSpot interrogates a file to find codecs or specific software needed to open it
Hacks:
- Check For Solutions Disable
- Clean Up Windows Context Menu
- Command prompt display Chinese characters
- Disable Scan and Fix Popup for removeable drive
- Error: There is no script engine for file extension ".vbs"
- Explorer keeps crashing
- Fix desktop background disappearing after external HDMI monitor/TV
- Font not valid for windows
- Hard Disk Not Working Pop-up: 1, 2, 3
- Live Bookmarks: Change Update Interval
- Map Android as Windows Drive
HeidiSQL ODBC client for vista instead of MySQL Workbench
How To Upgrade Your Laptop Hard Drive
IE Privacy Keeper deletes your history, temporary files and searches from Internet Explorer and Firefox
Image Optimiser Online reduces the size of your gifs, jpgs and pngs for web publishing
ImgBurn creates and burns disc images e.g. iso, bin
IObit Uninstaller gives more power for full uninstall of programs
Java:
- Runtime Environment (Including JVM) is needed by browser to run java applets
- SE Runtime environment is for certain apps only
KompoZer is an excellent free GUI HTML Editor alternative to FrontPage/Dreamweaver
Microsoft.NET CleanUp Tool repairs all versions if they won't work or won't uninstall properly
Movie Joiner stitches together mp3 files
MySQL Workbench
NullRefer hides referrer when linking to website
OpenDNS gives parental and content filtering services to your internet with anti-phishing and anti-malware
PC Pitstop tests the performance and configuration of your PC
PDF Bookmarks is a guide to how to use bookmarms in pdf files
PDF to Word Converter
PortableApps AppCompactor
Proxy Checker checks to see if proxy is working
Proxies to overcome Restricted Internet Broadcasts:
- Canada: www.freeproxy.ca
- Hidden: Hola (A bit slow), ZenMate
  - HK: search list
- Singapore
  - UK: www.daveproxy.co.uk, babylonproxy.info, www.afunnel.com,
      - Fixed IP: Expat Shield, iplayerproxy4u (TV Box), SmartDNS, tunlr
  - Other Countries: 1, 2 (You'll need to search for your country's name)
QR Code Generator
Quick Media Converter
RealVNC allows remote control of computers
Redirect Checker details the HTTP META headers for a webpage redirect
Regseeker allows easy access to registry. Includes registry cleaner for improved performance
Regshot tracks changes made to registry: before and after snapshot comparison
Right-click Context Menu
- Filemenu gives lots of options for your right-click context menu in windows
- Shellex and ShellexView give control over the context menu setup
Rname-It allows you to rename multiple files at the same time
Sharepod recovers music from iPhone to iTunes on computer
Spybot Search & Destroy removes spyware from your computer
SQLite Database Browser is a GUI interface to .sqlite database files
Streaming:
- Online: tvpc.com, hackedcabletv.com
- Streamtorrent
Teamviewer remote support, VPN and sharing
Text Exchange / Replace:
- Batch Replacer
- Search List 1
- Serach List 2
TOR Project - anonymity online
Ultimate Windows Tweaker tweaks PC settings
Ultrasurf anonymous browsing with IE
USB Disk Ejector allows memory sticks to be ejected via command line
Video Converter converts from and to the majority of video formats
Video Editors: Movie Maker, Lightworks
Video Flip and Rotate quickly rotates your mp3 videos.
Video Joiner stitches together mp3s
Vista:
- 99 Performance Tips
- Autoplay Disable to stop memory sticks always popping up
- Autorun.inf Creation
- Display Chinese Characters rather than seeing lots of ??????? in your window titles
- Dual Boot
- File and Folder Permissions, an introduction to the different security groups and settings
- How to Geek
- Iconoid changes appearance of desktop icons e.g. change colour of text and text background
- Partition Manager extends disk drives when Vista's disk manager won't
- Reduce size of WinSxS folder gets rid of old SP1 files no longer needed
- Remove Bluetooth Exchange Folder from My Documents
- Services Guide
- Unassociate File Types resets default program to blank so you can reset it next time you open a file
- Wallpaper Changer changes your desktop background automatically using your own photos
Wifi:
- Channel Change How To
- Fix Slow Wifi
- Network Performance Manager
Winaero Tweaker Portable tweaks PC Settings
WinRAR rar compression utility
XAMPP for Windows creates an APACHE MYSQL server test bed on your local PC
XP:
- ATF Cleaner deletes temporary files to free up space on your hard drive (XP only)
- Autorun.inf Creation
- Hack to install East Asian Language Pack (Chinese) if files are missing from computer
- Page File Monitor displays the size of your page file and it's maximum usage
- Shortcut to shutdown the computer that allows you to assign a hot key to shutdown
- Speed up shutdown by forcing programs to cloase quickly
- TweakUI and PowerToys allow you to tweak XP to suit your needs
- X-Setup automatically login and lots of other tweaks
Youtube:
- 4K Video Downloader
- ~~AceThinker~~ downloads videos from YouTube, Vimeo, SoundCloud, Vine
- Add 'ss' to 'www.' hack i.e. https://www.ssyoutube.com/watch?v=...
- Any Video Convertor (PC Only)
- Dmvideo downloads videos from DailyMotion
- Keepvid.pro downloads videos from YouTube, Facebook, DailyMotion, Instagram
- Manage YouTube Subscriptions
- Other options: 3D Youtube Downloader, Complete Youtube Saver, How To
- YouTube To MP4 Downloader downloads youtube vids
- YT1s.com
Zip-Repair repairs corrupt zip files