[RECOMMENDED] Seven Free Software Downloads - Comments Page 1

FWIW dept - I have used Irfanview for donkeys years, and am so pleased with it. also note, requests for info from the developer are answered by him, quickly and professionally. four paws up!

LastPass versions are available for multiple platforms, but they are only free on one platform. The paid version is required for using it on more than one platform.
Bitwarden is a good alternative, and its basic version is free for personal use.

Why do you pay $50/year instead of using the "Evergreen" option of $150 for life?

You and Leo Noteboom (askleo.com) have the only sites I've seen that have reviewed PC Matic. Do you have any suggestions why CNET, PCMag and others leave it out of their anti-virus articles? Or did I miss those reviews?

Avast now has its own browser, free, has many privacy tools, looks pretty good. What do you think?

SpywareBlaster-- Blocks malicious ActiveX installs by implementing a “kill bit” to prevent those ActiveX programs with known CLSIDs from being executed. And unlike many other anti-spy apps, SpywareBlaster does not run in the background.

www.brightfort.net/downloads/spywareblastersetup50.exe

I'm pleased to say I've used all your recommended free software except Notetab, which I'll try out. I've been using Irfanview for more years than I care to remember and can't recommend it highly enough. I do use ASC, although slightly worried that Malwarebytes seems to rate it as a problem,
Re ASC, I also use Glary Utilities and CCleaner free versions and reckon that in combination they tweak my computer pretty well. I've been using Avira as opposed to Avast as my virus checker, although have tried Avast too, and so far my PC has remained virus free. I do have some other free programs Like Privazer and VLC which I will continue to use unless I get warned against them. All seem to work well

Irfanview is excellent. I've used it for years, mainly to easily convert PDF files to JPEGs so that I can post the content on Facebook.

I'll never give up my Firefox!

Replace Lastpass with Bitwarden. https://bitwarden.com/

Another program I have run on a new computer is "Should I remove it" (www.shouldiremoveit.com) which gives me an idea of what I have on my computer and ratings of which programs I might want to remove.

VLC is the one missed off the list - it just does everything audio and video and updates easily and regularly.

I have most of the above, though not all. I started using BitWarden, after LastPass went to the one platform only business. Lately I found LastPass still works well on all my devices, without paying, so now I use both. (Why???) Also, I have Glary Utilities on four computers. Recently Windows Defender (which I only use as a backup/extra check) regularly blocks/deletes it on two computers while leaving it alone on two others. (Again, why???) Ah well, computer fun and games.

I am stopping using LastPass because their support is email only. Don't want to be caught without quick access to support. Never used their generated passwords for the same reason.

I use Roboform which I have been using since it first came out in 1999 (it was the first password manager). It was free and still has a free version but I use the full version which costs about $30/year. It works well for me as I have 100s of logins and I am used to it. I have had good luck with support from them.

I second Jonathan’s tip on VLC Media Player. Along with IrfanView which I use multiple times a week, if not every day. (And don’t forget to consider contributing if you find that you use them as frequently as I do.)

For Apple Mac/iPhone users… After lastpass limited multiple devices to pay only, I switched to Apple keychain. I avoided Keychain for years but I shouldn’t have. So do this: bookmark the site (needs Safari), Keychain the password. Syncs across all devices. Works fine and is secure and obviously free. I still use Chrome for browsing but I have learned to love Safari because of keychain.

VLC, Malwarebytes, and Glary Utilitiies should replace or supplement several on your list.

Kind of sad that you find it necessary to plug PC Matic again.

Some of the software I use most often (in addition to some of those already mentioned):
file manager - Nomad.net
audio editor - Audacity
image viewer - Xnview
bitmap drawing - GIMP
vector drawing - Inkscape
text/code editor - Notepad++
pdf viewer - PDFXchange
pdf manipulation - PDFill v12.0
audio player - Clementine

Thanks Bob for all your useful information.
In one or more of your past articles you have mentioned KeePass for a password manager. I've used it for years and years and like it because all the information stays on your computer and not in the cloud. But I must admit I blow that concept by having it in Dropbox so that I can use it on my phone as well. And as you have mentioned, without your master password for the password manager, all the data is securely encrypted. Keepass is available for Apple(IOS)devices as well as Android phones. However, I have used KeepassX and not the IOS version of Keepass (without the X) only because KeepassX came out first for the IOS systems. I believe they each have some advantages over the other.

Mike,

Bob provides a host of free information on a daily basis, so he has to be compensated somehow. This compensation comes from some of his "plugs", such as PC Matic. I understand and I don't blame him, I just ignore him on some of his obviously bias advice. I've used Malwarebytes for years, and as such PC Matic is a non-starter with me.