Ten Free Windows Tools I Use

There are good freeware tools out there for Windows, but there is a bunch of junk freeware too. Some are buggy, others are loaded with malware, and many are straight up not useful. This list includes nothing that will ask you to pay for the full version, nothing that will spy on you, and nothing that I haven't found useful. Now, on to the list!

1. Ccleaner (http://www.ccleaner.com) - Just before you defrag your Windows machine (yeah, I know, you can stop right there, Mr. Linux-doesn't-need-defragging. And who would change their last name to that anyway?), you should clean out your recycle bin and delete your temporary files. Although Windows includes its own disk cleaning utility, it isn't as thorough as this app. It even includes a registry cleaner as well! The only thing I wish it did was remove all but the last System Restore point (I have to use the Windows cleaner for that after I use Ccleaner). Other than that, it works quicker and better.
2. Process Explorer (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx?wt.svl=related) - Are you using the standard Windows Task Manager right now when you hit ctrl+alt+del? This one is better, especially if you do a little programming on Windows. Why is this?
   • Processes are shown in tree form so you can see which process owns other processes
   • CPU usage graphs for every running process, not just overall CPU consumption.
     
   • Shows which processes contain handles on various files and resources
   • Tons of other things I'm still figuring out.
   
   It even allows you to replace the standard task manager so that the next time your give Windows the three fingered salute, it pops this baby up instead. Because it doesn't come as an installer, consider making a C:\Utilities folder to put it in. My only gripe with Process Explorer is it doesn't have a networking meter. Rats...
3. NetMeter (http://www.metal-machine.de/readerror/) - Don't you wish that the networking meter that comes with the Windows Task Manager had a few more options? Does WireShark give you too many details when all you needed was a graph? Give this majigger a chance to fulfill your network speed curiosities. It gives you second-by-second stats on how much you downloaded, and it will even give total download numbers. It can even run as slightly transparent, and fades to fully opaque when you mouse over it if you so choose. Why care, you ask? Because this thing gives you solid KB/s numbers, to help you figure out if you are really using all of that highspeed broadband that your ISP supposedly gave you.
4. 7-zip (http://www.7-zip.org/) - Why are people still using shareware for their archiving needs like WinZip? or WinRar even? Because they don't know of the many free (and open source, Boo-yah! [boo-yah? really? What is this, the 90's? -Ed.]) alternatives, I think. Sure, this may not look as pretty as WinZip or WinRar, but it has the stuff that counts:
   • Extracts from many different formats, including zip, rar, 7z, bz, tar, iso, cab, blah blah blah
   • Multi-processor archiving support for the 7z format. Two core CPU? Use this. Or maybe you have four cores, and only want to use two or one? Blam, it's done.
   So there.
5. CrossLoop (https://www.crossloop.com/landing.htm) - So my Grandma calls me. Her computer had been BSODing on her a couple of times a day, and it was getting annoying (Interesting fact: Microsoft chose blue for their screen of death because it was a calming color. 23 years later, maybe not so much.). I had talked her through a few things, but nothing worked. I needed to control her machine. The problem, however, was that she was three hours away. Sure, windows has a remote controlling feature by default, but it is also lame. I installed CrossLoop on my Grandma's machine and my own. CrossLoop transcends firewalls and routers, so all I had to do was type in the connection code that she gave me over the phone, have her accept my connection, and I was in! I was able to clean the computer, perform some maintenance, and install some much needed software (including two spyware cleaners and AVG anti-virus). The result? A smooth running machine. Thank you, CrossLoop!
6. Notepad++ (http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm) - The standard notepad that comes with Windows is decent. I like it alright. But it doesn't do tabs or session saving. It also doesn't highlight code. Notepad++ does. 'Nuff said.
7. CDBurnerXP (http://cdburnerxp.se/) - Remember back in the day when Nero used to be a great tool to burn CDs? Now it is so bloated you practically need to start one Nero program before you can start another. I just want to put data on a disc, not navigate a labyrinth of options. If you are like me, and you don't need all that extra fluff of transcoding video and making DVD menus, then this is for you. Does data and audio discs for CDs, DVDs, Blu-Ray, and HD-DVD.
   
8. Foxit Reader (http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php) - Adobe Reader is bloated. It takes forever to start up. And once it starts up, it has to do a massive update or something dumb. All I wanted to do was look at a PDF document, man! Get it before it gets too bloated itself.
9. VLC Media Player (http://www.videolan.org/) - It isn't the prettiest player when it comes to playing music or movies. But it makes up for that fact by playing nearly anything, even MP4s or FLVs. You can download your favorite YouTube, Google Video, or other videos using http://keepvid.com/, and then play it with VLC Media Player, no extra hassle.
10. The GIMP (http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.html) - The new 2.4.x series is finally out, man! Yeah! Slightly easier to use than the older 2.3 series. Although commonly billed as a replacement to Adobe Photoshop, it isn't quite as powerful, but then again it isn't as complicated either. Having said that, it isn't as easy as Microsoft Paint either. Take some time to play around with it, because the benefits won't be immediately realized. Many good sites provide some good tutorials on GIMP. It beats paying hundreds of dollars on Photoshop. (Yeah, yeah I know. But it beats pirating Photoshop too.)

Blatantly obvious: Firefox (http://www.mozilla.com/) - I know: you already know about this. It is so recommended by everybody that I didn't put it in the official list. But then again, my list didn't quite feel complete either. Besides, 90% of Web surfers out there are still using some form of IE, so obviously a few more people still need convincing. IE probably is good enough. But I bet you didn't know about that index.dat file (Shout out to Lester for letting me know about that one), a hidden file which I have no idea what it does but probably isn't any good for your Internet surfing security (Ccleaner can remove that file, by-the-way). IE7 does extensions now, but I'm assuming it will never be as popular as the Firefox extensions.

So, do you have any good free or open source Windows apps? Maybe some alternatives to the ones I've listed? I'd love to hear about it.