Windows Ultimate Starter Kit
Windows Ultimate Starter Kit
Windows Ultimate Starter Kit
Windows Ultimate Starter Kit
The Windows Ultimate Starter Kit is a set of powerful, yet freeware applications that will let you exploit thepotentialof your computer.
Antivirus
Avast Antivirus 5
Avast offers a really solid protection against threats. It has protection againstanti-spyware& antiroot-kit. Using its set of shields, the computer will be protected againstbrowserhijacks, infected email messages, Instant Messaging and P2P threats. It also features a Gaming Silent Mode that will let you play without getting any notification windows.
Avira AntiVir
AntiVir is capable of handling its own with its AHeAD (Advanced Heuristic Analysis and Detection) technology; protecting the computer against, infected email, spywares and email threats. AntiVir is also compatible with Netbook computers.
Other free alternatives like AVG and Comodo Internet Security
Antispyware
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
Anti-Malware can be one of those tools too good to be true. Aside from having a simple and easy to use interface; it features an extensive database allowing it to detect and remove almost every threat in the web.
Ad-Aware
Ad-Aware is one of the best Anti-Malware tools out there. Some of its features are: real time protection, behavior based protection, rootkit removal system, a download guard for Internet Explorer, an email scanner and more.
Firewall
Comodo Firewall Internet Security
Comodo Internet Security offers a Firewall, Antivirus, Anti-Spyware, Anti-RootKit and Bot protection in one package. The Antivirus is good but the Firewall is even better. During the installation process you can select to install the Firewall only. What's so good about it? Comodo is able to stop threats way before they reach your computer. It's constantly guarding the memory, the network and all the computer activity.
Another free and good firewall is Outpost Firewall
Web Browsers
Chrome
Chrome is one of Google's creations. Its fast, packed with extensions and it's pretty compatible with most of the websites. The main drawback is the lack of an ad/pop up blocker.
Firefox
Firefox offer features pretty similar to Chrome. It is fast and compatible with most of the websites and it also has a very extensive library. It also features multi-tab browsing and has similar options to deal with history and temporary files. By default it won't be able to deal with all the Ads and Pop Ups; but this issue can be deal using extensions.
So why use Chrome or Firefox instead of Internet Explorer? Both browsers are faster than Internet Explorer and they offer a tighter security. If you want to have better performance and a better experience, Chrome and Firefox are the way to go.
Another notable browser isFlock which runs with the Chromium engine.Flockis a social network oriented browser.
Email Client
Thunderbird
If you were looking for an MS Outlook alternative,Thunderbird is up to the task. Thunderbird is an easy to use, light and full featured email client. As a stand-alone email client Thunderbird will cover the everyday needs. The calendar features can be added through an extension calledLighting.
Multimedia Players
Kantaris
If you want to enjoy music and videos Kantaris will cover your needs. With its set of built-in codecs this media player will be able to play almost every file that you throw at it. Playing MP3, WMV, Real Audio, AVI, DivX, MKV, and many other formats makes this player a real solid contender.
Gom Player
Gom Player is another media player that has a lot of compatibility with audio and video files. What makes it a unique tool is the ability to search and find for codecs needed to play a specific file. Every time that you want a file that the player can't handle; you will receive a message telling you that it can't play the file but that it can search for the needed codec.
Burning Software
CDBurnerXP
CDBurnerXP is a free burning application that will let you burn CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray Disc. You can also create and burn ISOs and bootable disks.
File Archiver
7-Zip
7-zip is an open source file archiver that offers a high compression ratio. It is capable of opening all the popular compress format (zip, rar, ace, gzip, arj) and many others. The compressed files can be password protected and encrypted.
System Maintenance
CCleaner
When it comes to keep your system clean, CCleaner is the right application for the job. CCleaner is able to clean about every aspect of your system; Windows, Internet Explorer, the Registry and many of your installed programs. For the Registry Cleaner, it will create a restore point before cleaning/fixing the registry. This is very useful if something goes wrong after cleaning the system.
Defraggler
If you are not happy with windows defragmenter application then consider Defraggler as the solution. Defraggler will not only defrag the hard drive, but it will also optimize it, making the computer run faster.
Image Editing
Paint.net
Paint.net makes it easy editing and creating images. It has a basic set of tools and effects to get you started, but all its power can be extended using extensions. There is a lot of support from the community, and a lot of plugins and extensions for it. This makes it a powerful image editing software. You will be able to add effects, tools and extend its editing and creation utilities through add-on extensions.
Office Suite
OpenOffice.org
If you can't afford MS Office then give a try toOpenOffice.org This freeware office suite is compatible with MS Office Suite. The suite includes a word processing, a spreadsheet, apresentation, a flow chart, and a database program. All of them are compatible with MS Office suite. The advantage of it, is that is available for many operating systems; Windows, Mac, Linux and others. It also has an extension system that lets you add more power to the suite.
Social Networking
Seesmic
If you visit various social networking sites Seesmic might be right for you. With Seesmic you can manage Twitter, Facebook, Google Buzz, LinkedIn, and Foursquare and many other social sites using the ping.fm plugin. You can comment, share pictures, watch status changes and more.
If you don't want to install software to do this task, there are web based alternatives that will let you do the task. HootSuite and Netvibes will do more than well handling your social network needs.
Instant Messaging
Meebo
With Meebo Messenger you can talk to friends using diverse chat clients. You can talk to friends that use Windows Live Messenger, MySpace Messenger, Facebook, Google Talk and other popular clients, all with the use of Meebo.
Another popular alternative is Pidgin. Pidgin brings together even more clients together; AIM, Google Talk, IRC, MySpace, MSN, Yahoo!, Bonjour and many more. More features can be added through plugins.
There are other programs available for free dedicated for the same purpose; but the ones listed here are among the best and most popular. With them you will be able to extend the power of a new computer; and will let you do most of common tasks for free.
The methods to repair watches Laptop Repair Sussex Anchorage Windows Organization How to Use 7 Basic Steps to recover from a Windows data Find the Right Car Repair Grand Rapids Shop Microsoft Xbox 360 Repair - What to Do If Your Xbox Stops Working Finding The Best Boise Heating Repair Service Central Air Conditioning Repair - What You Can Do Before You Call How to Clean Up Computer Registry Using Registry Cleaner? Windows Phone7 from Microsoft at a glance Windows Phone 6.5 & 7 How to enable Windows 7 administrator account and reset lost Win 7 admin password FHA 203(k) Loan Program Provides Money For Home Repairs and Renovations