The Internet is truly full of wonder! With tools and resources galore, we're often surprised to find that some of the most useful applications are FREE!  Unfortunately, some of these FREE applications come at a great cost -- a hidden payload of malicious software, for example. So, when is FREE really safe?  The following list of software is A+ tried, tested and truly free -- of malicious software, that is.  If one of your favorite applications has not been included, please let us know, and we'll be glad to review it.

7-Zip

This is a powerful file archiving and compression tool. 

Adobe Flash Player

This plug-in is often required for viewing rich web content such as streaming video. 

Adobe Reader

This program is required to view and print PDF documents.

Adobe Shockwave Player

This plug-in is often required for viewing interactive, rich web content such as video games.             

AVG Antivirus Free

This is our preferred free antivirus software for home users. 

iTunes

This digital media library software is required to sync an Apple device (iPod, iPad, etc) with your computer. 

Java

This plug-in is required for many interactive websites. 

OpenOffice.org

This open source office productivity software is designed as a free alternative to popular commercially available software. 

Paint.NET

This is a simple, but powerful, 2D graphics design application. 

Picasa

Organize and enhance your digital photographs with this popular software. 

Shark007 Codecs

Often, many different codecs are required for the playback of digital music and movie collections.  However, they have a nasty habit of creating application conflicts, so less is more in this case.  Shark007’s codec packs are some of the most comprehensive and reliable ones we have ever found.  The best part is that only one is required. 

SketchUp

This is a remarkably powerful and easy to learn 3D design tool. 

uTorrent

This is our preferred BitTorrent client.