The "Favorite Software" thread has inspired me to create a similar one for freeware only.
Ok, I know that "you get what you pay for" is largely true. That being said it is possible to create a really great machine for most general purposes using only freeware (excluding windows, of course). I know some of the programs listed do not measure up to their commercial brethern, but they are all very functional for all but the most demanding users and uses.
This list includes only freeware and "free for home use" ware. No shareware or commercial.
How about it... List your ultimate freeware system!

Download Manager: Free Download Manager, FlashGot
RSS Aggregator: Sage Firefox Plugin
Web Server: Apache
Web Browser: K-Meleon, Firefox
Firewall: ZoneAlarm Pers
E-Mail: Thunderbird
FTP: SmartFTP
Anti-Spyware: Spybot S&D, Ad-Aware SE, HijackThis, CWShredder, SpywareBlaster
Anti-Virus: AVG Free, AntiVir Pers
Imaging: The GIMP, Paint.NET
Image Viewer: Irfan View
Photo Album: Picassa2
Screen Capture: Gadwin PrintScreen
Word Processing: PsPad, OpenOffice
PDF Reader: Adobe Acrobat
Database: MySQL, SQLite
Web Development IDE: Nvu
HTML Editor: AlleyCode
CSS Editor: Top Style Lite
Defrag: dirms, buzzsaw
Backup: MS Backup
Undelete: HandyRecovery, PC Inspector
Compression: IzArc
Drive Imaging: Digital Dolly
Disk Cleaner: CrapCleaner
File Search: AgentRansack
Registry cleaner: CrapCleaner
Disk Usage Viewer: Sequoia View
Boot-CD: PeBuilder, 911CD
Virtual Drive: Daemon Tools
CD/DVD Burning: CDBurnerXP, DeepBurner
Audio Player: foobar2000, WinAmp Free Version
Audio Recorder: Audacity
Audio Ripper: Streamripper for winamp
Notepad Replacement: Metapad
Process Viewer: Sysinternals ProceXP
Startup Viewer: Sysinternals Autoruns, startup mechanic
Diagnostics: Everest Home Edition
Programming: SharpDevelop, Eclipse
Net Monitor: Advanced Port Scanner,Ethereal
File Manager: xplorer2
Disk Scan: Disk Checker
Torrent: Azureus
Partition: Ranish

Since there is already a topic similar to this, here is the link : Click Here

Well, I don't want to spoil the party, due to some of your selections, either, but please if nothing else get rid of the Adobe stuff.
Also, with software, it is possibly one of the only things where I can honestly say, you do not get what you pay for! Every machine I build, excluding the OS is installed completely with freeware. and proper no nag, advertising, spyware etc. freeware too.
Unless you are into using the PC for a specialist purpose, there is little which cannot be achieved, using freeware.

@Yzowl,
I wasn't asking you to critique my favs, but list your own. But since you brought it up, what's wrong with Adobe Reader (this is honest question) It is free is it not?

@ dman : I was just posting the link in case anybody was interested. It's a good thing to bring this kind of topic back because there are always people wondering what free alternatives they have.

I think Adobe Acrobat is great! It opens absolutley everything I have ever needed it to, I have never encountered any critical problems with it, and best of all...it's FREE! One problem I do find with it; however, is it's slow loading time and what not. I use RyanVM's silent install package, which is tweaked to drastically reduce the loading time. You can find it here. There is also a simple application called Adobe Reader SpeedUp that removes plugins, descreasing loading. The beauty of it all is if you need those plugins again, you can add them back with Adobe Reader SpeedUp! You can find Adobe Reader SpeedUp here.

Might I add a neat little webserver program : SimpleServer

I noticed that Adobe7 seems to load much faster than v6. Have you noticed this also? [deXter] has a great slimmed-down version of this as well.

Yes, Adobe v7 does seem to load much quicker than v6. Could you possibly provide a link to [deXter]'s lite version?

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=39162&hl=adobe

Here are some free network related programs :

SoftPerfect Network Scanner
NetStumbler

I use both of these programs to help find computers across the network and monitor any suspicious activity. They may not be fancy or anything, but SoftPerfect's Network Scanner is a single executable which is always a plus!

Anti-Spyware: Microsoft, Formerly Giant. It will be free for any licensed copy of window after July 31.

My two cents:
1) Yes it's free
2) but it is BIG

As I think that half part of a fast (responsive) PC is the hardware, and the other half is slim software, I like slim solutions, like FOXIT:
http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php


True, maybe it won't work with ALL .pdf files, but what do you want from a 1Mb proggie that needs no install, BLOOD?

jaclaz

Password Manager : Any Password
File Joiner : Simple File Joiner
File Splitter : Simple File Splitter
Image Compression : JPG Cleaner

Since everyone seems to be on the topic of PDFs I'll post these freeware alternatives :
Tomahawk PDF+
eXPert PDF Reader
AcroPAD

Now, I have not tested any of the PDF alternatives so I cannot guarantee their reliablity, but I'm going to try AcroPAD since it's only 300 kb!

Here is a very resourceful website that provides links to freeware/standalone applications : Click Here

I forgot to mention that it is created by albator. albator has done a great job compiling a terrific list! Thank you for all your hard work!

Sometimes, shareware applications give you that pinch of extra functionality that you need to be satisfied. I've not found a better registry cleaner than JV16 PowerTools' Registry Cleaner combined with RegSupreme Pro. And the GUIs are very straight forward and non-fancy.

@Jeremy

You could of course just use the last available freeware version of RegCleaner, which is practically the same, and works on all versions of Windows.

I'm satisfied with the software I have and if something I like isn't free, well, I work around that.

@ Jeremy: By purchasing the application of course!

Jeremy I think you may have missed my point, the link I gave is for the exact same application as you stated. My post was simply to highlight that you can use the last version of the program created prior to them starting to charge for it!

I also used Foxit for my PDF reader, but I found a lot of pdf files that it had trouble opening up. I had to resort back to Adobe to be able to view. Version 7 does open A LOT faster than 6.

]Bonkers[

This thread seems to have drifted towards the discussion of Acrobat Reader!
Anyway, here is another resource for freeware: SnapFiles
MP3/ID3 Tag Organizer: TagScanner

Yeah, there have been some nice suggestions made. I have picked up a few things from the replys, thanks everyone. But I was really hoping that people would list all of the programs they would load to make a totally freeware machine. (like the thread title says). But hey, I will take every little nugget of info anyone wants to share.

I don't purchase software. I am in no financial circumstance where I could spend money on software. So I have to use other means unmentionable in these forums.

I didn't misunderstand you at all. I know what you're getting at. Newer versions of software possess bugfixes, added features and improved stability. Regardless if a program is free or not, if I like it, I use it to its full extent.

Sorry if I'm changing the subject, but the first post mentioned Free Download Manager. It is good overall but I do have problems:

1. Sometimes it doesn't shutdown properly. It crashes or you have to end it with End Task.
2. When downloading a lot of files (e.g. 1000 at a time), a crash can occur. I'm not sure if this is due to Firefox, the FlashGot plug-in, or FDM?
3. Rarely, it will complete a download but it will have failed to get the file. You can see error messages in the download's log.
4. I have suspicions that it is harboring spyware. I'd rather use OSS.

Is there any better alternative?

There is no spyware in FDM and it has always worked well for me, but then again I never tried to download 1000 files at a time. FreshDownload is also good. Used to use that before I found FDM.
http://www.freshdevices.com/

What is OSS?

One of the nice program which none of you seem to be listing is hoekey. Windows key shortcut creator!
http://apps.bcheck.net/

Someone listed it now! Thanks Clavicle. What else would you put on your machine if you were only using freeware??

Audio Converter: dBpowerAMP Music Converter

This program rocks!!!

Some good progs, BOTH freeware and "portable":
http://www.portablefreeware.com/
http://www.portablefreeware.com/about.php

jaclaz

Wouldn't a freeware machine imply a freeware OS? LOL!
I'll post an entire freeware machine later on today...

Thanks for great links, TBM. The dbPowerAmp is cool.
Yeah, a "totally freeware machine" would not include MS OS, but then again it wouldn't belong on a MSFN forum either.

for pdf viewing only, try this. really loads faster

http://www.snapfiles.com/freeware/system/fwpdftools.html

toyrum

Does it realy load faster than FOXIT ?

Beyond a freeware machine, I strive to make an adobe-free machine as well!

Foxit is nice prog, no doubt. Perfect for "hardware challenged" machines. I did not care for adobe5 and 6 because of annoying splash and slow load. v7 is very nice, however. no splash and very quick load (no, maybe not as fast as foxit).

I repost here all the freewares I'm using and tested so far... There is no link but a simple google search should lead you to them.
I realy recommand all these softwares!

Unofficial Service Pack 2.01 for W98se by Gape (forget about crashes and BSOD on W98)
ContextEdit (add/remove items on the right-clic menu)
Sequoia (look or the large, space consuming files on your drives, amazing)
RegSeeker (clean your registry)
CodeStuff Starter (check and kill what's running now on your system)
ffdshow (decode DivX, Xvid and other video formats, you don't need these codecs installed, works better and many tweaks)
DivX5.2 (6 months trial, but with new version coming it should be renewed)
CDex (extract cd tracks and convert to mp3)
Foxit (Adobe acrobat replacement)
IrfanView (you know it yet)
1By1 (easy to use mp3 player)
Notepad++ (script, htm and software editor)
Metapad (Notepad replacement)
FastStone Player (and all FastStone softwares, video/media player/viewer)
Zorro (hide anything unhideable on your screen)
Xplorer2 lite (windows explorer replacement, a must-have, attention the free version is hidden in some text on their homepage)
Photo Filtre (photo editor)
Wild Rename (batch rename files)
AntiVir (antivirus)
Audacity (audio editor, mp3, wav etc)
AviUtl (avi video editor)
Virtual Dub (video editor)
DVD shrink (copy dvd, please be honnest and use it only on non-copyrighted dvd!)
Page breeze (web editor)
NVU (web editor)
Wall Street Analyzer (or wsa, stock chart software)
DBXtract (outlook express dbx files extractor)
WOE5Extract (outlook express extractor, has some bugs)
Iconize (minimize anything to taskbar icon)
Doughnut (wrap up any window, leave only the title bar visible)
StormView (a little bit minimalist image viewer, for tinyware fans)
fipictor (old abandonware, but very easy image editor, may look outdated somewhat)
CLCL (clipboard manager)
Cookie Jar (delete unwanted cookies)



But the best of the best (cuz it's mine ) is the Dingue Calculator/Unit convertor (calc.exe replacement) , see the link in my signature

A little bit confusing at the biginning, but when you understand the way it works, you can't use anything else anymore! You understand, at least that a computer is more than a pocket calculator.

My List

bbLean- Shell Replacement
Dark Files- Security
Directory Lister- Information of files in a directory
DirMonitor- monitor changes in directories
DScaler- software to watch tv
EssentialPIM Pro- Contacts manager
Everest- pc information
Filemon
FlashGet- download manager
GetRight-download manager
Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004-
Miranda IM- messenger
Nero- burn cd
OpenExpert- "open with" selected programs
Paragon Mount Everything Professional- NTFS read and writer
FoxIt PDF Reader- Alternative to Adobe PDF reader
Process Explorer- task proccess
Program Protector- password to exe files
Regmon- monitor changes in registry in real time
TrayIt!- minimize any program to tray place
VideoLAN- Very good player
Aston- Shell Replacement
Babylon- translate
Barca Pro- Very good email program
eMule-P2P
EvilLyrics- download song lyrics
eXescope
FullRemover- total uninstall
IM2- messenger
Irfan View- image viewer
Media Player Classic- video player
Mozilla Firefox- browser
Opera- browser
ps2rate- mouse smooth
RadLight- video player
RegCleaner- Registry cleaner
Resource Hacker
Resource Workshop
Shareaza-P2P
SIM- messenger
Skype- voIP
TaskInfo
Acronis True Image- Image partitions
WinRAR
xplorer2- File manager
Java2SE RE 5.0- Sun java
Acronis Disk Director
Xstarter- automation
Tasker- record and play mouse and keyboard movements
Winamp- audio and video player

Hi,
Recently i downloaded a program called DirMonitor: http://www.esat.kuleuven.ac.be/~eschoofs/
(DirMonitor will enable you to automatically monitor files, folders, registry keys, services and processes.)

Anyone knows a program like Dirmonitor? with the same functions.

@Fred, lleo
That's what I'm talking about. Nice lists!
I like your scripts too, fred. I think a lot of people don't realize the power that comes pre-installed on every windows machine if you know how to unleash it.

Okay, so here is my freeware machine. I also reviewed and gave details to some of the programs. Feel free to post your own reviews. If you want me to simplify this post just ask and I’ll edit it and make it just the program list with links provided. Enjoy!

Operating System:
Windows XP SP2

Component Removal Utility:
nLite: nLite, in my opinion, is the holy grail of all component removal utilities for Windows! I absolutely love it. I have never had any problems with it. Although I have only personally used it alongside Windows XP, I have heard only great things regarding Windows 2000, 2003, and 64. It lets you slipstream service packs into your build, as well as integrate any drivers and/or hotfixes. There are also many miscellaneous tweaks you can put into your build. I find that by using nLite I can decrease my install time by at least 20 minutes if not more. This is a great program and I would highly recommend it! Best of all, it was created by our very own nuhi! Spank that OS!

Windows XP Updates:
RyanVM's Windows XP Post-SP2 Update Pack: RyanVM has done a great job at creating this pack. The full pack not only includes all the hotfixes that you need, but it also incorporates some great extras such as Unlocker, Shockwave Flash, CMDOW. One of the things I like best about the pack is the ability to integrate it into a build using nLite. This makes things tremendously easier and I would like to personally thank you RyanVM for creating the pack, as well as nuhi for allowing the automatic integration of the pack using nLite.

Web Browser: Firefox

Firefox Extensions:
fireFTP: fireFTP is a FTP client for Firefox. I don’t like to clutter up my computer with miscellaneous programs and have never found an FTP client that I liked significantly over the other. I have found fireFTP to be the middle ground. It is not too complex, but still provides the quality one would expect from a program with many menus and what not in a simple and very navigable interface. Enough said!
FoxyTunes: I, like may, like to listen to music while I browse or multitask on the computer. I always hate having to minimize my media player and then maximize it to change a song, mess with the volume, stop, etc. My solution is FoxyTunes. It allows me to control my media player from within Firefox without having to maximize my media player. It is very sleek and has a built in alarm clock. It also supports many media players; for a complete list click here.
DownThemAll!: DownThemAll! is basically an extension that allows you to select all the links in a particular webpage and download them at once. Instead of clicking on all the individual links within a webpage you can just open DownThemAll!, select all the links within a page that you want to download, choose the destination, and let it go!
ieview: The name of this extension should give it away. ieview adds to the context menu when you right-click in a webpage a tab that allows you to view the webpage in Internet Explorer. Some websites don’t view properly in Firefox or Netscape and this allows you to simply view them in Internet Explorer. You click on view in IE and Internet Explorer loads with the webpage you were just at without closing Firefox.
ImageZoom: Again, name should give it away. Allows you to right-click on an image and choose how much you zoom. Simple, but very handy.

E-mail Client: Thunderbird

E-mail Service: Gmail (PM for invite)

Web Server: SimpleServer
This program is so easy. You just run the program, select the file you want to host, and click “start.” You minimize it into your system tray and it only takes up roughly 6 mb of memory. All the web user has to do to connect to you is know your IP. One issue that I have come across is having a firewall enabled either with your router or within Windows. This is not an issue with the program; however, and can easily be fixed by unblocking it from Windows firewall or your personal firewall, unless you have Verizon DSL where they block port 80. This is a great program and I recommend it to anybody wanting to host a file for a short period of time. One thing that could be improved upon is being able to see how many people connect to your server (server stats), but I have no complaints as it is a simple application.

Firewall: Windows Firewall

AntiSpyware: Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware (Beta)
Originally a GIANT product, it has since been purchased by Microsoft. Although I preferred GIANT’s original product because of the extras it included such as a file shredder, I have no complaints with what Microsoft has done with the program. It is very stable and the agents that you can choose to run all the time have always detected any sort of spyware on my machine. It does seem to slow my bootime, but I feel that security is worth the extra minute.

Password Manager: AnyPassword

Imaging: The GIMP

Screen Capture: HoverSnap
This program is great. It is a standalone executable to start off with. It uses about 1.2 mb of memory while maximized, 800 kb minimized to the system tray. At first the program may look intimidating, but after a quick read through you will realize just how easy it is to capture screenshots. After you have captured, it saves the image to the directory of your choice. You can then upload it via FTP. I have never used this feature, but if somebody does please tell me how it works.

Office Alternative: OpenOffice

PDF Reader: Adobe Reader (RyanVM's Installer)
I use v7.0.1. I find v7 runs faster than v6. Basically enough said; it reads PDF files. I also mentioned in an earlier post about Adobe Reader SpeedUp, you should check it out.

Compression: 7-Zip, TUGZip, WinZip

File Manager: 2xExplorer

File Joiner: Simple File Joiner

File Splitter: Simple File Splitter

Disk/Registry Cleaner: CCleaner

Boot-CD: BartPE

Virtual Drive: DAEMON Tools

Audio Player: Winamp v5.09 Lite

MP3/ID3 Tag Organizer: TagScanner

Audio Editor/Recorder: Audacity

Audio Ripper: CDex

Audio Converter: dBpowerAMP Music Converter

Video Player: Media Player Classic
It’s slim, a single executable, and plays anything!

Codecs: K-Lite Mega Codec Pack
This pack includes absolutely everything you could possibly imagine. Quicktime and Real Alternative…no problem! It’s all there. You can play pretty much anything with this pack.

Notepad Replacement: Notepad2

Startup Viewer: StartupRun

Shell Viewer/Manager: ShellExView

Diagnostics: AIDA32
This program is now known as Everest and was purchased by Lavalys. I still stay with the original version because Everest has three different versions (Corporate, Ultimate, & Home) and only the Home Edition is free. AIDA32 brings these together. It may be out of date, but I still love it!

Net Monitor: SoftPerfect Network Scanner

Torrent: Azureus

P2P: Ares, eMule Plus

Instant Messaging: AIM

Instant Messaging Add-Ons: AIM Ad-Hack
You may be wondering, "why the heck isn’t he using a multi-protocol instant messaging client like Gaim or Trillian?" Well, to be honest, the only people I talk to either have AOL or AIM. It’s basically the standard I use. Anyway, AOL has a tendency to scatter links to AOL and puts ads in the interface of AIM. This program removes them…COMPLETELY! This is honestly a must have if you use AIM.

Games:
GTA Yes, it is legally free!
GTA2 Yes, it is legally free!
Madness Interactive: This game is absolutely awesome! It is addictive as well. Breed GTA and Super Mario World SNES and you’ve got Madness Interactive!

Icons: FOOOD's Icons, XPize (created by the very talented XPero)

File Shredder: Eraser
This program completely erases any data you want it to. It takes longer than many shredders that I have tried. This is because Eraser wrties over the data hundreds of times with miscellaneous combinations of zeros and ones. It supports NTFS and FAT32. It follows several methods of deletion, but you can define your own making this little program great!

Wow! I'm finally done with all of that. I will add more, but this seems like enough for now. I hope you all benefit from this... Later! Edit: Added Instant Messeging, Games, Icons, and File Shredder.

@TBM,
WoW!, Your post sets the standard! Great list (can't even call it a list, more like a guide). You spent a lot of time on this with the links and your comments. Much appreciated.
Only thing I don't like about it is it makes my original post look cheesy by comparison I think I will try to clean it up and emulate your style.

Thank you!

I am yet to see anyone include Cygwin in their machine software listing!

Jeremy sets an even better standard with his 'free' program which is less than the cost of couple of bottles of wine!

yeah, Cygwin.
Great *NIX on Windows implementation, and essential for one of best freeware disk tools, TestDisk

Certainly, regarding a shareware application...

All of the great progs listed here are proof that there is enough good freeware out there that you dont have to BUY or STEAL software to get a really nice system.

** Edit: I forgot to mention that all programs are TRUE freeware
- no ads, no nags, no spyware. Most of the programs are "alive" -
that means their authors are responsive, bugs will be fixed, and
suggestions will be implemented. **

Hi @ll

I think this is the right topic for my first post in this great forum.

First of all, as a former regular in alt.comp.freeware I'd like to
recommend http://pricelesswarehome.org/, "The best of the best
in Freeware as determined by the readers of alt.comp.freeware"

But now to my list of freeware in use ...

VNC
remote desktop access

Karenware from http://www.karenware.com
some nice utilities

WinAmp
version 2.79

SnIco from http://snidesoft.cjb.net/
icon editor

BLA from http://www.woundedmoon.org/win32/bootloganalyzer123.html (mirror)
boot log analyzer

FileAsoc
file association editor

Active XCavator
activeX controls browser

DLL Archive from http://www.analogx.com
scan for duplicate/unused DLLs (use with care!)

AsciiDiff from http://www.homestead.com/adriancarter/Compare.html
file comparison

Dependency Walker from http://www.dependencywalker.com/
analyze executables, dlls, etc.

RegMon, FileMon, Autoruns from http://sysinternals.com
monitor registry access / monitor file access / list startup items
some of the BEST freeware programs IMHO

IconScan from http://www.freewarepage.de/download/31.shtml
scan files/entire disk for icons (german version)

jv16 Powertools (aka RegCleaner)
last free version 1.3.0.195

Reptile from http://www.sausage.com/reptile-free.html
graphics generator

Miranda IM from http://www.miranda-im.org/
small non-bloated messenger; supports various protocols

Netboot from http://www.backmagic.de/produkte/netboot.htm
dos bootdisk with networking capabilities (german, registration required)

IconEdit32 from Ziff Davis (gone commercial)
icon editor

WebReaper from http://www.webreaper.net/
website downloader - this one sucks

CrackUp from Ziff Davis (gone commercial)
filesystem fragmentation analysis

UCU from http://www.jimwillsher.co.uk/Site/Software/UCU_Intro.html
unit conversion utility

PEsx from http://www.jps.at/pesx.html
shell extension to analyze exe/dll files

CDex
CD ripper

IrfanView
picture viewer - a true must-have

UPX from http://upx.sourceforge.net/
utility to compress executable files

Catfish from http://www.equi4.com/catfish.html
file catalog browser - one of my mostly used programs

FileAnalyser, RegCool, HDCleaner from http://home.tiscali.de/zdata/mainpage_e.htm
pretty useful utilities

Treesize from http://www.jam-software.com/freeware/index.shtml
list folders sorted by size

OpenExpert from http://www.baxbex.com/openexpert.html
handle file extension associations

TreeCopy from http://www.rjlsoftware.com/software/utilit...y/default.shtml
copy folder structures without files

SysIcon from http://www.filelibrary.com/Contents/Windows/130/53.html (mirror)
free up/repair the ShellIconCache

Registry Detective from Ziff Davis (gone commercial)
search the registry FAST

BIOS from http://www.geocities.com/mbockelkamp
save/restore BIOS settings

ExamDiff from http://www.prestosoft.com/ps.asp?page=edp_examdiff
visual file comparison

Blat from http://www.blat.net/194/
send mail from the command line

TrayManager from Ziff Davis (gone commercial)
"hide" icons in the systray

TheGun (grown-up notepad) from http://www.movsd.com/thegun.htm
notepad replacement; fast and small - 6144 bytes only!

Attribute changer from http://webplaza.pt.lu/~rpetges/
edit file/folder attributes

rjhExtensions from http://www.rjhsoftware.com/rjhextensions/
excellent context menu extension

Belarc Advisor from http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html
list of installed software/hardware

Dirkey from http://www.protonfx.com/dirkey/
move to folders with a single keystroke

Motherboard Monitor (MBM) from http://mbm.livewiredev.com/
monitors the status of the motherboard (fan speed, temperature, ...)

Dir2Html from http://www.pc-tools.net/win32/dir2html/
create html page from directory structure

Metapad from http://www.liquidninja.com/metapad/
even though it has some bugs (can't handle loooong lines correctly; GoTo line number larger 32766 doesn't work) I got used to it

Registry Editor Plus from Ziff Davis (gone commercial)
great REGEDIT enhancer - favorites, history, ...

Regex Coach from http://www.weitz.de/regex-coach/
test (and learn) regular expressions interactively - a smart tool from a smart guy

CabPack from http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.hederer
.cab compressor

Chainsaw from http://www.schmeusser.siw.de/software/chainsaw.html
file splitter

Reshacker
guess you know it

Audacity
audio editor

Regshot (no homepage(?) - use google)
make snapshots from the registry and compare them - FAST & small

GRDB from http://www.members.tripod.com/~ladsoft/grdb.htm
debugger - excellent "debug" replacement

@icon sushi from http://www.towofu.net/soft/e-aicon.php
icon editor/converter

Iconoid from http://www.sillysot.com/
desktop icons manager; make icons transparent - EXCELLENT
note: works (for me) even after closing Iconoid - so it uses 0% system resources

MWSnap from http://www.mirekw.com/winfreeware/mwsnap.html
excellent screenshot utility

k9 from http://www.keir.net/k9.html
e-mail spam filter (blacklist, whitelist, regular expressions, "learning")

Ad-aware & SpybotSD
no comment required

mp3tag from http://www.mp3tag.de/
excellent mp3-tag editor

mp3gain from http://mp3gain.sourceforge.net/
mp3 volume normalizer

Download Express from http://www.metaproducts.com
excellent download manager

OLEclean from http://www.geocities.com/drdole/
sort of registry analyzer/cleaner - use with care!

ShellExView from http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/shexview.html
excellent shell extensions manager

Instant Version Info from http://www.lorriman.com/software/verext/verext.htm
Version info for files in explorer context menu

DirHTML from http://home.pacbell.net/nitzsche/dirhtml/dirhtml.html
create html pages from a directory structure - lot of features

Enjoy!

** Edit: Some gems I forgot to mention ...

xxcopy from http://www.xxcopy.com/index.htm
EXCELLENT copy/xcopy replacement

graburl from www.kiraly.com (website down)
command line tool to download web pages (text only)

Internet Explorer Text Archiver from http://www.pcnineoneone.com/tweaks/scripts9.html
select some text from a web page - right click - select "Archive selected text" - very handy!
The plugin saves the selected text in a predefined folder. The file will include a timestamp and the web site's address.

OE-Quotefix from http://home.in.tum.de/~jain/software/oe-quotefix/
Add-on that modifies message composition windows on-the-fly to allow
for 'correct' quoting, compressed indentation, and RFC-compliant signatures

Desk Marker from http://www.deskmarker.com/
Draw on windows with different pensize and color to emphasize window areas.

Aezay Registry Commander from http://aezay.dk/
EXCELLENT registry editor with features seen nowhere else

more to come ...

@ ack-hh: First off I would like to welcome you to the MSFN boards. It is a privilege to have you. If you have any questions please use the search tool provided because most questions have been asked before and have answers to them. Also, please read the forum rules. Now, regarding your post. What a great way to start! Wow, those are some great programs. I have only looked through a couple of them, but I can tell that it is all gold! I especially like attribute changer. Take note, The GUN link appears to be down. I hope to see more from you soon. Once again, welcome to the boards and what a post!

Wow... ack-hh... that's a good long list. Way better than my first post here...

I'll definately have a look at some of those when I get home tonight...

Oh... and welcome to MSFN!

Thank you all for the warm welcome.

Regarding the link to MOVSD's TheGun:
I've checked all links as I were writing my post.
I even downloaded the latest version of TheGun
from that site. Hopefully it will be online again soon.

Regarding Attribute Changer:
Yes, it IS a nice tool. Otherwise I would not have done
the German localization in the previous version.

welcome to the forum ack and im familar with 90% of those trusty freeware proggie .ived spend countless hours combing the freeware highways from son of spy to nonags and i find tons of handy apps sure some arent the prettiest gui but they work and the price is great lol .