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All-Time Greats

• Ad-Aware Free: Stops spyware
• Audacity: Records and edits sound
• BitTorrent: Easy online file sharing
• Dropbox: Online file syncing
• Evite: Fast party planning
• FreeConference.com: Unlimited conference calls
• IMDb: Movie facts and trivia
• OpenOffice.org: Microsoft Office alternative
• The GIMP: Tool-rich image editor
• Trillian Basic: Chat with friends on many instant messaging services

Antivirus Utilities (Tested By PCWorld)

• Alwil Avast Home Edition: Capable and thorought malware detection
• AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 8.5: Excellent detection and disinfection
• Avira AntiVir Personal: Good PC disinfection
• Microsoft Security Essentials (beta): Nearly perfect in disabling infections

Audio Apps and Services

• AudioTag: Easily ID songs you can't name
• Buddha Machine Wall: Calming music source
• Grooveshark: Great place to listen to music
• Mp3Tag: Universal tag editor for audio
• Myna: Advanced audio editing
• Speakershare: Share your best PC speakers with your other computers
• TunesBag: Access songs from any browser

Backup Utilities

• Backupify: 1GB of storage, weekly backups; download backups to your PC
• Comodo Time Machine: Backup utility protects files, folders, and programs
• Macrium Reflect Free Edition: Images your hard drive for PC restoration
• SDExplorer: Access 25GB of online storage from Windows Explorer
• SpiderOak: Gives you 2GB of online backup; saves selected files when changes detected
• SyncToy: Easy home-network syncing
• Todo Backup: Images your drive or a partition

Browser Add-Ons, Apps, and Utilities

• CeeVee: Online résumés with custom sharing
• Lazarus: Recover info typed into Firefox
• MailBrowser: Manage Gmail contacts, attachments, and more
• MyBrainshark: Add narration to a presentation by speaking over the phone
• PDF to Word: Turns PDFs into edit-ready docs

Collaboration Services

• LogMeIn Express: Secure screen sharing (great for troubleshooting your dad's PC)
• MiNeeds: Connect with and receive bids online from local contractors
• Tinychat: Disposable chatrooms
• Yammer: Facebook-like communications features for businesses
• Zoho Discussions: Add a feature-rich discussion forum to any online destination

Desktop Customization

• BumpTop: 3D desktop that allows you to pin up notes and photos
• DeskHedron: Create up to nine 3D desktops that you can flip through
• Fences: Organize desktop icons and make them disappear when you want them to
• InterfaceLift: PC wallpaper library
• Krento: Rotating 3D circle for app launching
• Rainmeter: Attractive, seamlessly embedded desktop overhaul
• StandaloneStack 2: Animated shortcuts for easy access to folder contents
• T3Desk: Minimizes programs to the PC desktop

Mobile Apps and Services

• BlueRetriever: Helps recover lost gadgets
• Connectify: Turn your laptop into a Wi-Fi hotspot
• Instapaper: Bookmark Web pages; strip them to text-only for easy mobile reading
• OverMyMinutes: Helps you stay within your cell-phone plan allotment
• Xpenser: Track expenses via the Web

Photo Utilities

• Easy Poster Printer: Print small to giant posters from your digital images
• The Golden Hour Calculator: Find the best light to shoot photos
• Paint.Net: Lightweight Photoshop alternative
• Phoenix: Web-based image editor
• Shrink Pic: Autoresizing of digital images

Productivity Tools

• DoPDF Free PDF Converter: Fast and simple PDF conversion
• Drop.io for Outlook: Share large files in Outlook
• Ecofont: Special design allows this font to consume less ink
• Everything: Thorough indexing and fast search of your desktop
• FlockDraw: A Web-based "cocktail napkin" for shared ideas
• Fonolo: Gives you access to phone menus for customer service numbers
• iCurrent: Free news site with personalization
• Liaise: Outlook add-in keeps tabs on all of your important action items
• MakeSomeTime: Keeps tabs on invoices, projects, and billable hours
• ScreenToaster: Create and e-mail or upload a video of a screen that explains something
• Tom's Planner: Easy Gantt charts

Security Utilities

• KeePass: Organizes and protects all of your important passwords with just one password
• OpenDNS: Protects kids from online violence, pornography, and other unsavory Web material
• SuperAntiSpyware: A robust malware fighter
• Web of Trust: Vets the links you click in your browers for security issues

Self-Improvement Assistants

• BudgetSketch: Track where your money will go before you spend it
• DailyBurn: Presents charts and graphs to track your fitness program
• Habitforge: Train yourself in new habits with the help of daily reminders
• Learn10: Ten new foreign-language words daily
• RunKeeper Free: Use your iPhone to keep track of your jogging sessions
• YouTube EDU: Videos of Ivy League lecturers

Social Networking Tools

• Brizzly: Performs a makeover of the Facebook and Twitter interfaces
• FacePAD: Download photo albums from Facebook, via Firefox
• FriendShopper: Shop online with friends
• Microsoft Silverlight 4 Beta Client for Facebook: Better photo-upload tool for Facebook
• OutSync: Copy friends' Facebook photos into your Outlook contacts records
• PhotoGrabber: Download photos of you found in other users' albums
• Splitweet: Tweet to single or multiple accounts at the same time
• TwInbox: Outlook add-on brings Twitter tweets to your inbox, and more

System Utilities

• Better Paste: Autostrip formatting from text with a keyboard command
• FixWin: Easy repairs for common PC annoyances
• Ketarin: Keeps your third-party apps up-to-date
• Portable Ubuntu Remix: Runs Linux applications on your Windows machine
• Teracopy: Fast file copying on the PC
• Ultimate Windows Tweaker: Optimizes all areas of Windows 7 or Vista
• Win7 Library Tool: Add the contents of networked folders to libraries, and more
• Wizmouse: Makes your mouse's scrollwheel work with any window it hovers over

Timesavers

• Belvedere: Automated file manager works with the rules you set
• Cache My Work: Autoreloads the apps running when you restart your PC
• Ninite: Installs your all favorite free apps in the background, after a Windows reinstall or anytime
• PhraseExpress: Monitors your typing for shorthand text and expands it to larger snippets
• Read It Later: Mark material for later enjoyment in Firefox or on your smartphone
• Rescue Time: Monitors your apps and sites and provides graphs on how you spent your day

Video Tools and Services

• Boxee Beta: Plays back PC and Web-based media on your HDTV
• Classic Cinema Online: Watch classic films
• Clicker: Aggregates Internet videos
• DoubleTwist: A great iTunes alternative for media
• Hulu Desktop: Desktop app for Hulu's video
• Jinni: Select movies and videos to watch based on keywords such as plot or mood
• Libox: Private network to share large media files
• ShowMeWhatsWrong: Lets people record and share screencasts of what's ailing their PC

Windows 7-Style Features for Older PCs

• AeroSnap: Let Windows XP and Vista utilize the Aero Snap features of Win 7
• Seven Remix XP: Gives XP's icons, box, buttons the look of Win 7 graphics
• Taskbar Shuffle: Reorder XP and Vista taskbar items with a simple drag and drop
• Windows 7 Shortcuts: Add Win 7 time-saving keyboard shortcuts to XP and Vista
• WinShake: Brings Win 7's Aero Peek and Aero Shake features to earlier versions of Windows