I've been wanting to put together a free software list for a while so here it is. Again, all the software here is free to download and use. Some of them offer "pro" versions but their free versions are nothing to sneeze at.
7zip
7zip is what I use for all my compression and decompression needs.
Why should I get it? This is taken directly from their site; Here is all the compression formats it supports.
Packing / unpacking: 7z, XZ, BZIP2, GZIP, TAR, ZIP and WIM
Unpacking only: ARJ, CAB, CHM, CPIO, CramFS, DEB, DMG, FAT, HFS, ISO, LZH, LZMA, MBR, MSI, NSIS, NTFS, RAR, RPM, SquashFS, UDF, VHD, WIM, XAR and Z.
One of the most notable unpacking file types is RAR. A very common file type to be sure. The real reason I recommend 7zip is similar software are only trial based or don't work as well.
For those not familiar with file management, 7zip is a tool that allows you to compress the size of files for storage or sharing purposes. This is important if you want to share your media with others and save space for yourself. If you don't have any compression software yet, I highly recommend you try 7zip.
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Ccleaner
C cleaner is one of a number of good programs that that remove registry errors and assist in computer clean up and drive management.
I originally needed a registry cleaner and that's how I stumbled across it. Apart from cleaning your registry, it can wipe drives, uninstall programs, clean up browser history, disable programs on startup, and offer up various other little tweaks and such.
Why should I get it? It's a free registry cleaner. The fact it comes with some other bells and whistles to help keep your computer running smoothly is just icing on the cake. If you already have a registry cleaner Ccleaner won't excite you.
If you don't know what your registry is or how to clean it you should probably give Ccleaner a go and see if your computer runs smoother afterwards.
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Roboform
roboform is my password keeper. It encrypts my passwords and allows me to back up my encrypted passwords in a safe place, in case my computer gets compromised. I can then access all my passwords easily using one master password
Why should I get it? Pretty much everything nowadays uses a password. I got tired of having to remember passwords or worse using the same password for every website. That's when I started using Roboform. Now I don't worry about joining a new website or setting up a new account for a service because with roboform I can easily access all my password information without having it stored in some cryptic notepad or a piece of paper floating around my room.
If you struggle to remember passwords or you have passwords in not so secure places that you want to make private I recommend giving roboform a try.
(it also does auto filling for various online forms)
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Malwarebytes Antimalware
Malwarebytes Antimalware, what a mouthful. Do you have a system infected with a trojan? How about other malicious software? You probably wouldn't know but malwarebytes antimalware (MA) can find it and stop it. Albeit if the malware is bad enough you may need to bring it in from outside your computer and run it on a flash drive if your system is completely compromised.
Why should I get it? It's a useful tool for cleaning malware from your computer. Usually if your computer needs MA it's too late, but it's nifty to have it in a flash drive where it can operate outside of your computer should your own system get compromised.
I recommend you get this for yourself and have it ready for when your family inevitably ruins their computers.
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MSI Afterburner
MSI afterburner is a what I would call an omnitool. It can be used to overclock and monitor processor activity and record audio and video from video games. It's a versatile tool and many of my youtube videos were made using MSI afterburner as the recording software.
Why should I get it? its a high performance piece of software that rivals what FRAPs can do in terms of video recording. Unlike FRAPs however, it's free so there's no barrier to using it which is the main reason I use it. Its pretty easy to use and it has multiple options for recording video including the ability to simultaneously record in game sound along with audio detected from the microphone.
If you're not much into recording content or recording CPU stats you may not get much mileage out of this software, but if you think it you might give it a download.
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Open Broadcast Software
OBS or Open Broadcast Software is pretty much what it says on the tin. If you want to stream content online it can record the content from your desktop and send it to the appropriate website you wish to stream to. It also offers local recording capabilities if you simply want to record your desktop for future video editing purposes. It uses good compression codecs so a 30 minute video recording sessions should stay below a gig if you're not trying to record super HD video.
My internet is a bit shoddy so I didn't bother much for streaming but if I had more capable internet it should have gotten the work done. With my current pittance of 1 mb up per second it was able to give me a fairly good quality stream with an occasional hiccup and stutter. If I had more time to tweak things and some faster internet I'd probably get an overall better quality of stream.
Why should I get it? It's a neat little piece of software. I had fun playing with the compression ratios and seeing how much space one saved over the other and seeing the quality each compression offered. I would say it's another toy that will really only appeal to you if you're into streaming or creating videos.
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While there are multiple pieces of software that do what the above do, these are all of my favorites. I recommend you give them all a try since they are all free. Is there something on my list you don't like or think is better? leave a comment.
(this "list" post is an old draft but I figured I should finally post it. I think started this draft a year or so ago. None of the information seems to have changed much and all my opinions of said software are still the same, so I can rest easy that the me of a year or so ago wasn't making poor decisions. )
