There Are Plenty Of Good Software For Free
I have tried and tested a lot of expensive big brand-name programs as well as free programs. Frankly, sometimes it’s best to go for the big brand-name products. On the other hand, free programs save money. You will never pay subscription fees and updates. Unless you can afford top-of-the-class software, I recommend you to try and use effective free software from reputable companies, in order to save the money spent on buying expensive big brand-name software. By doing so, you will also save yourself of the hazards and the consequences of using unauthorized copies of unaffordable big brand-name software. In most cases, in the computer world, there are free software programs that work just as well, and sometimes even better than the big brand-names. I have devoted a lot of time and research trying to figure out ways to keep computer prices as low as possible, so that even the poorest in the society can own and maintain a PC. And here we offer you a list of free programs downloadable at their owners’ Web sites.

Free Antivirus Programs:
Grisoft’s AVG is a fine and impressive antivirus program. It performs very well and the frequency with which the web site updates this free software impresses me a lot. You can download this free program at http://free.grisoft.com/. Please, note that AVG Antivirus is only free to home users and can only be installed on a single computer for free.

BitDefender http://www.bitdefender.com offers a free version of its desktop antivirus program, BitDefender Client Standard. The free version, BitDefender free edition, offers a full range of antivirus capabilities including scheduled scanning and automatic virus definition updates. It also allows you to customize the interface in a number of ways.

Avast Antivirus is also free, easy to use and well-proven antivirus program from Alwil Software. It is obtainable at http://www.avast.com. But you may not use it on a business system. In such case, you will need to purchase the Professional edition.

Free Dedicated Anti-Spyware/Adware Programs:
I use SpyBot Search & Destroy (SS & D) and I’m not about to uninstall it, since it has proven to be one of the best standalone detectors, monitors and removers. It is totally free except reasonable requests by its programmers for a donation, in order for them to be able to keep securing our computers from the bad guys. They are working for our safety on the Internet and we owe it to them to make sure their selfless projects do not run out of finance. SpyBot Search & Destroy is downloadable at www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html.

Free Photo Editors/Graphics Programs:
FastStone Image Viewer is a decent free editor but excels as an image converter. It is downloadable at http://www.faststone.org.

The Gimp is an effective image editor that has long been popular among users of Linux operating systems. And now it is as well becoming the image editor of choice for Windows users. You can download it at http://www.gimp.org.

PhotoShop Album is a free photo editor downloadable at Adobe Web site- http://www.adobe.com. It performs editing functions only on photos and it is very good at it.

Brush Strokes Image Editor is another fine image editor that allows you to effectively do your work at pixel level. You can download it at www.pabird.supanet.com/-pabird/freesoftware/brushstrokes.
Photobie is a photo editor but it comes with limited features. It is freely downloadable at Photobie Web site- www.photobie.com.

Free Music Players/CD Creators:
Instant CD & DVD Burner obtainable at www.albumgalaxy.com is a free CD burner. It has a simple user-friendly interface and limited features which lets you do your work without getting confused with options, as is the case with some programs.

Winamp (basic version) is a free music player that offers all the music capabilities you will ever need. It is downloadable at www.winamp.com.

DVD Players/Burners:
Burn4Free, as the name implies, offers free DVD burners which burn video as well as data DVDs. It’s all yours to try and install at www.burn4free.com.

Free Web Browsers:
Many web users generally opt for Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, since it's installed on their systems by default. It is as well free. But I’ve heard some users complain about having difficulties using it and its obvious susceptibility to outside intrusion. Computer hackers mostly target Internet Explorer due to their unwarranted hatred of Microsoft’s products. They target it more than any other browser on the Internet. You may want to change your browser, if your system doesn't have much protection and you're too worried about security. Despite all odds, Internet Explorer remains the most commonly used browser on the Internet. If you don’t yet have it, you can download it at www.microsoft.com/internetexplorer8.

FireFox is a safe and free alternative browser which also has a very large following. You can download it at www.mozilla.com. It is worth trying.

Freely Get An Inside View Of Your PC Like An Expert:
Belarc Advisor is a free program that will provide you all the answers to all the technical questions a technical support person will ask you. This program makes it very easy for you to find out what version of software installed on your PC and the details of the hardware configuration in use, thus, facilitating relaying the necessary information to the technical support team of your PC’s manufacturer. Belarc Advisor is downloadable at www.belarc.com/free_download.html. Why not try this program and feel like a computer wizard even if you’re a novice? Please, note that ZiniTech ships all its Windows-based PCs with Belarc Advisor, for your convenience.

Free Operating Systems (OS):
Our operating system of choice for desktops and laptops is windows 7, though it helps that you run it on a relatively fast computer with plenty of RAM and a better video card. Windows XP Professional is still the OS of choice for many desktop users. But Windows operating systems are not free.

Ubuntuguide.org/wiki/dapper offers a free substitute operating system that is worth your consideration and trying, especially if you’re a budget-minded user. You can go to their Web site and read about it. If you’re ready for a little high-tech adventure, as I would recommend, download the program to a CD and try it directly from the CD without installing it- a low-risk way to test the OS. If you eventually like it, as many people do, just install it on your computer and enjoy it.

Please, note that this article is not updated. So, if you intend to use any of the free software mentioned above, make sure to contact its vendor for version updates.