Free and Inexpensive Software Alternatives

By Michael Gazdzik

Free Antivirus

- Avast

- AVG

-Antivir

-All 3 can be found at http://download.cnet.com

Avast Free Home Edition

– Free– Same scanning engine as Professional

Edition– Real Time Protection– Scans Windows as it starts up– Interface can be difficult to navigate

AVG Free Edtion

– Easy to Use– Includes spyware scanning– Good basic antivirus protection– Only receives updates once a day– Scanning engine not as good as Avast

Avira Antivir Personal Edition

• Good scanning engine

• Scans for viruses and spyware

• Easy to install

• Interface confusing

• Does not always update correctly

• Free version has popup ads

Free Email client software

• Evolution– Most of the functionality of Outlook

• Thunderbird– All the same functionality of Outlook Express

but without having to deal with Microsoft

Internet Browsers

Mozilla Firefox

– A safer alternative to Internet Explorer

Google Chrome

- Fastest browser made

Safari

- Surf the way Mac users do

Mozilla and Firefox

• Mozbackup– A free software program to backup alll your

settings in Mozilla Firefox

– Firefox Addins• Local weather information in your browser• Block all ads on website• IE tab

Plus a whole lot more

PDF programs

PDFill

Cute PDF Form Filler– Both are inexpensive alternatives to filling out

and saving fillable PDF forms and contracts

– Cute PDF Writer• Create a PDF from any file

Free Photo Editors

Picasa

– Free photo editing software– Create your own albums and share them

online

– GIMP• A free alternative to the much more expensive and

full featured Photoshop

Other Software

CCleaner

– Clean up your computer the easy way, removes temp files, cookies, and more

Audacity

- Edit your music and audio files

Zone Alarm

- A better firewall

Other Software (cont’d)

Open Office

- A free alternative to Microsoft Office

Billeo Password Manager

- keeps track of your passwords for Internet Explorer and Firefox

Freeware and Shareware Sites

• http://www.snapfiles.com/freeware/• http://download.cnet.com/windows/• http://www.tucows.com/• http://www.cutepdf.com• http://www.pdfill.com• http://www.dipconsultants.com/evolution/

download.htm • Or just do a search using http://www.google.com

Summary

Most people do not need to buy expensive software for their needs. 99% of people use less than 10 % of the tools available in their programs. Why pay for the 100% of the price when much of it is free?

Comments

If you have any comments,questions or suggestions please send your emails to techsupport@nsbar.org

Thank you for your time!

Michael Gazdzik

IT Manager

NSBAR