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Karl's Freeware Links

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Below is a list of links to great free software.  Note that most of these links will direct you to the developers' home page, rather than to the download itself.  There you should first read the description, licensing terms, and instructions, before downloading the software.  Note also that many of these sites support commercial software, and you may have to look for the links to the freeware versions.  Additionally, many of these sites offer other free and commercial titles which you may find useful!

I enthusiastically advocate the use of Open Source software, and the support of those who are engaged in this effort!  If you are unfamiliar with Open Source, please follow the links below for an introduction to these alternative licensing concepts, and acquaint yourself with software motivated by excellence—not by profit.

All external links open in a new tab or window—simply close to return to this page.     —— Last updated 21 Nov 2011 ——

Educational Software Quality educational software for children.
Internet Filters Eliminate unwanted porn, spam, scripts, adware, spyware, & viruses.
Internet Browsers A selection of alternatives to Internet Explorer you might like.
Office Suites Office software as good as Microsoft's, without the high price!
Graphics Software Software to view, manipulate, & edit your digital images.
Useful Utilities Perform those impossible tasks, and just make your life easier!
Portable Apps (New Addition!) Applications that require no installation—run on any computer from your flash drive!
Miscelaneous Neat stuff that doesn't fit anywhere else.
Freeware Websites If one of these sites doesn't have it, or link to it, it probably doesn't exist!
Information Websites Educate yourself about Internet hoaxes and other security threats, find computer help.


Educational

SchoolForge.net dedicated to furthering the use of open resources in education (FLOSS)
Educational Freeware free educational software and games
Kids Freeware free software and Internet services for Kids
Asymptopia Software home to some wonderful, free math and word games

Tux4Kids high quality educational software (Free-Software / OSI Certified licenses)
Tux Typing educational typing tutor for children (Open Source General Public License)
Tux Paint award-winning drawing program for children ages 3 to 12 (Open Source GPL)
Tux of Math Command cute, fast-paced math practice game for grade-schoolers (Open Source GPL)

TuxMathScrabble a math version of the classic word game "Scrabble" (Open Source GPL)
Multiplication Station teach your child how to add, subtract and multiply (Open Source GPL)
GCompris educational software suite comprising of numerous activities for children aged 2 to 10
Phun combines physics and art in a playful way (requires a fast computer)


Internet Filters

OpenDNS web content filtering, anti-phishing, DNS and navigation services—use this!
MVPS HOSTS file blocks ads & banners and protects the user from web parasites—recommended
K9 Web Protection free Internet filtering and control solution for the home
SafeFamilies We-Blocker free Internet filtering software and parental controls to help protect children online
File Sharing Sentinel blocks file sharing P2P software such as Kazaa, Morpheus, Bearshare, etc.
SpywareBlaster protection against spyware, adware, browser hijackers, and other unwanted software

SpywareGuard real-time protection against spyware & browser hijacking
Ad-Aware anti spyware—highly recommended
Spybot-Search & Destroy anti spyware / privacy software
IObit Security 360™ advanced malware & spyware removal utility
Spyware Terminator spyware removal tool with Clam AntiVirus integration and real-time protection

ClamWin Free Antivirus Clam AntiVirus (ClamAV) for Windows (Open Source GPL)
avast! Home Edition free antivirus software detects and removes all forms of malware
AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition great free antivirus software (direct download)
SUPERAntiSpyware Detect and Remove Rogue Security Products and many other types of threats.
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware get this—you will need it!
Microsoft Security Essentials real-time protection against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software


Internet Browsers & Email

Tor defend against network surveillance and traffic analysis (Open Source)
Firefox Internet browser (Open Source MPL/LGPL/GPL)—recommended
Google Chrome runs web pages and applications with lightning speed
Safari Internet browser for Mac, PC, iPhone, and iPod touch
Opera another alternative Internet browser
Sun Java Java Runtime for intranet applications


Office Suites & Utilities

OpenOffice.org office suite—XML & MS compatibility (Open Source LGPL/GPL)
WordWeb thesaurus and dictionary for Windows—neat & handy!
akFontViewer view samples of installed fonts
Microsoft Office viewers view, print and copy Microsoft Office documents, even if you don't have Office installed
Windows Live Essentials useful add-ons! (get direct downloads for Windows 7 / Vista and Windows XP)


Graphics Editors

The GIMP GNU Image Manipulation Program (Open Source GPL)—recommended!
ColorPic easy color palette creation and grabbing—recommended!
Pixia painting tool for full color graphics
IrfanView graphic viewer for Windows 9x/ME/NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista
AlternaTIFF web browser add-on that displays TIFF image files


Useful Utilities

CCleaner removes unused files from your system—recommended!
Defraggler versatile file defragmentation tool—recommended!
DoubleKiller fast and easy to use application for finding and removing duplicate files
ReNamer exceptional bulk file renamer (Creative Commons License)

ImgBurn a CD / DVD / HD DVD / Blu-ray burning applicationwith several advanced features
InfraRecorder CD/DVD burning solution for Windows, with a wide range of powerful features (GPL)
DeepBurner advanced and extremely powerful CD and DVD burning package
Notepad++ source code editor and Notepad replacement that supports several languages (GPL)

Startup Control Panel manage programs that start automatically
X-Setup Pro tweak Windows settings (final version) (website)
TweakUAC™ Disable annoying Vista UAC (User Account Control) popups (there IS a God!)
E_Cloaker foils spambots by encoding the email addresses on your websites


Portable Applications

PortableApps.com carry your favorite computer programs with you (Open Platform & Open Source)
Pendriveapps.com reviewed and categorized free and Open Source portable applications
100 Portable Apps software you can carry on a portable device and use on any computer
Portable Freeware Collection easily move from one machine to another—run off a USB memory stick
Portable Python Python® programming language preconfigured to run directly from any USB storage device


Miscellaneous

Celestia real-time 3D space simulation (GPL)
Stellarium free open source planetarium for your computer (GPL)
Adastra Freestar less resource-intensive planetarium—very good & difficult to find
Microsoft Agent downloads obtain text-to-speech engine for Adastra Freestar speech function

Google Earth fly anywhere on Earth to view satellite imagery, maps, terrain
Audacity® easy-to-use audio editor and recorder (Open Source GPL)
Miro HD video player (Open Source GPL)

Awesome Library 26,000 reviewed resources, including the top 5 percent in education
10 Finger BreakOut improve your typing skills with this free typing tutor / typing game
Senselang online free touch typing program
Binary fun screensaver—scrolling 1s and 0s


Freeware Websites

The OSSwin project Open Source for Windows—everything imaginable!
MajorGeeks not all freeware, but lots & lots of it!  well categorized
Nonags no disabled features, nags, time limits—absolutely free
SnapFiles shareware and freeware Internet tools downloads
Pricelessware "the best of the best" as voted by alt.comp.freeware newsgroup

Freeware Home collection of free software in several categories
FreeStuffer.Com freeware downloads and free stuff and freebies
FreewareFiles.com free software resource—check it out!
FreewareWeb.com well organized, regularly updated freeware archive
The Software Patch software patches, updates & upgrades

DirFile home of 6200+ freeware software
Softpedia encyclopedia of software downloads (freeware, shareware, trial)
Primewares more than 36,000 freeware programs to choose from!
PCWorld PCWorld Magazine—articles, tips, software archive
Softonic Europe's leading software download site—freeware, shareware, trialware

Game Downloads mostly abandonware—see their FAQ page
GearDownload.com mostly shareware (lots!), but freeware also... not easy to search
Best Freeware Download HUMONGOUS!  well-categorized, well-indexed, terrific freeware site!
cnet downloads comprehensive site—look for the 'Top freeware' link
Files32.com lots of shareware & freeware, nicely organized, good descriptions


Information Websites

snopes.com Urban Legends Reference Pages
Hoaxbusters the Big List of Internet hoaxes
Vmyths.com Truth about Computer Security Hysteria
Computer Viruses Computer Viruses and Urban Legends at Yahoo.com
Spyware Warrior A wealth of resources to help you fight spyware and adware
Hardware Hell Trish's Escape from Hardware Hell computer help
KarlSwartz.com Karl's computer help and links to great free and open source software

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