NB - this first post is the latest. My other posts down here in the thread are all superseeded by this first one. I'll try to keep it updated. All posts superseeded? No, not the last one.But this first post will be the main thing.
==================================================
This list of software is no longer maintained.
__________________________________________________ _______________

To sum it up this far:
__________________________________________________ _______________

Editing textfiles:
Everybody should have a good texteditor. Notepad comes with Windows and is a typical standard texteditor. It lacks of everything and a good replacement is recommended.

EDXOR Loads superfast (and you leave it superfast also), handles very big files, supports some different encryption standards, very small footprint yet possible to config.
Free, find it athttp://members.ozemail.com.au/~nulifetv/freezip/freeware/edxor.htm
NB: The author, Dariusz Stanislawek, has also done other good system-utils. (nominated by unicorn)

Textpad is a very competent yet affordable editor. Handles the largest files with ease. You get pretty much the same options as with UltraEdit but for halp the price.http://www.textpad.com (nominated by unicorn)

Ultraedit is no longer recommended, mainly because of an offending price. A full flanged editor with tons of options. Cost some money, go check it out athttp://www.ultraedit.com (nominated by rikytik)

Viewing pics:
Here is the same situation again... You need something better than the basic tools Microsoft provide together with the OS (Operating System).

XnView I used to be a fan of Irfanview. Lately I'm using XnView fromhttp://www.xnview.com which I have found to be pretty versatile. Free.(nominated by unicorn)

File-compressing:and archiving
Files need to be compressed and sometimes put togetherwith several other files in an archive... when sending them by mail, for backup-purposes and sometimes for sharing on the Net.

Win-RaR is a versatile, affective and pretty common tool. It handles several archive-formats, is easy to use and loads fast. Info athttp://www.rarlab.com This tool isn't free, but absolutely the best. (nominated by ~*McoreD*~)

Defrag:
In the old days we had to defrag the FAT-partitions pretty often. Nowadays things are different. There is an understatement here that the recommended Operative System (OS) is Windows XP (Home or Pro) and thus I suppose you use NTFS for filesystem...

defrag.exe is allready paid for... It comes with XP. Here is how: From time to time a cleaning is necessary. I do this at Christmas, before the summer and sometimes at the beginning of the autumn. Needed or not. Rest assured that you are absolutely not in need of any daily, or nightly, defrag.
Load the OS in Safe Mood with Command Prompt only. Run defrag with the switch -v for more feedback. This way you defrag most of the files, including those normally locked by the system. (nominated by .unicorn)
O&O Defrag is the tool for you who still believe NTFS need more attention than described above. No description, no pricetag given this far. (nominated by ~*McoreD*~)

Browsing the WWW:

Internet Explorer, Opera, Mozilla Personally I go with Opera which is fast and efficient and loaded with nice features. Sometimes I have to choose IE (Internet Explorer). IE is the main browser at the Net today - hence many sites are optimized for IE, some even doesn't work with other browser. Shame on thoose webmasters (f eks see Microsoft pages...)! Here you have to make your own choice. Both Opera and Mozilla work very well (later versions that is, and ther is of course no reason to use an old one). IE works too of course. But you might want more, like tabbed windows, better downloadhandling etc. There also are different addons to make IE work better. This is an whole world by itself to explore. MyIE2 fromhttp://www.myie2.com/html_en/home.htm is one of theese, freeware/donationware, gives you a better IE. (nominated by hanovski)

Browsing companions, different types:

Safety - Firewall
A firewall is a must. It prevents you from hackers and crackers as well as they scan the Net for possible host-machines. They protect you aganins Trojans trying to access the Net from within your machine and transmit your precius data. The firewall that comes with Windows XP? Forget it, please. Once again Microsoft gives you only half of what you need. It will protect you from outside attacks. That is good of course. Meanwhile however it will let anything at your computer use the Net freely... Turn it of and install something else!

Kerio Personal Firewall (KPF) Kerio is ok, really, and free. If you don't want to pay for extremely configurable safety you should go for KPF and so head away tohttp://www.kerio.com/kpf_home.html for more information. (nominated by unicorn)

Agnitum Outpost Pro Since the release of version 2 Outpost Pro has become a *very* good and higly configurable firewall, yet easy to start with. Cost some money. There is a free version too without the "Pro" in the name. It isn't updated snce version 1 and is not recommended.(nominated by unicorn)

Others: There are a lot of them... Another one often mentioned is Zone-Alarm fromhttp://www.zonelabs.com who offer both a free and a paid version.

Safety - Antivirus
Norton AntiVirus is the only one nominated yet. This is somewhat like the situation with firewalls. You need one, there are many out there and you'll get a lot of opinions. (nominated by war59312) together with this copy'n'paste: Symantec's Norton AntiVirus? 2003 Professional Edition combines the world's most trusted antivirus solution* with additional features to protect and recover important files on two PCs. This easy-to-use program removes viruses from email messages and instant-message attachments automatically, without interrupting your work. And automatic updates help defend your PC against new viruses.http://nct.symantecstore.com/fulfill/0001.67#form

Browsing tools

Naviscope Naviscope has became freeware again! Never surf without it. Check it out athttp://www.naviscope.com and be prepared to fall in love. Or reject it. In some manners you can compare it to Proximitron...(nominated by unicorn)


Antiannoyance

PopUpCop is designed to return control of your browsing experience back to you. It does not block all advertisements: it blocks irritating Web site behavior, which is often used for advertisements. Like the ideal of a real police officer, it steps into a volatile situation and uses just enough force to restore calm. Get it here:http://www.popupcop.com/PopUpCop.exe (nominated by war59312)

Ad Muncher is a program for Windows systems which removes adverts, popups and general browsing annoyances from all popular browsers and web-utilizing programs (as well as most banner displaying and popup generating programs like ICQ, Morpheus, Kazaa, Grokster, Opera, PalTalk, iMesh, Bearshare, LimeWire, etc). Get it here:http://www.admuncher.com/download.shtml (nominated by war59312)

Download manager

Getright fromhttp://www.getright.com (nominated by war59312)

File-transfer:
There is a lot of fuzz around P2P-communitys and illegal distibuting of copyright protected music and videos theese days. An older way to distribute files cross the Net and different users is FTP. Still the biggest and best, still needed. You might need a ftp-client to download files from various makers. Might it be updates, utils, plain onformation or maybe demo-files. There is a simple ftp-client named "ftp" dlivered to you allready. Open a commandwindow in windows and type "ftp" without the quotes and you are there... However you get a lot more options with a graphic application. There are several to choose from.

FTP:
SmartFTP: fromhttp://www.smartftp.com is a full flanged graphic ftp-client. Free for personal use.
FlashFXP: fromhttp://www.flashfxp.com is considered the best by many. Costs money though. (nominated by hanovski)

Mail-client:
Mailing is still one of the best parts of the Net. Fast and efficient in many cases the very best way to communicate. You need some client though aside of the web-based systems. Outlook is the real target for many viiri-makers. There are several other alternatives to this bulky and targeted bloat.

The Bat: is small but yet really really efficient. One drawback though, you have to pay for it. Despite this recommended software here for the moment. Find out more athttp://www.ritlabs.com/the_bat/ where you also get a 30 day free trial.

Misc system-utils:

Copying/Pasting:

Clipmate
Yes, there is a clipboard in Windows. Unfortunately it is too basic. A replacement is recommended to easy up daily work.
A lot of utils are available. Clipmate is made by another hero of mines: Mike Lin. He has done a few small utils to be found athttp://www.mlin.net and I use Clipmate every day when it comes to copy/cut and paste. Of course Traysaver is loaded also... Free of use.(nominated by unicorn)

Misc:

PropertiesPlus adds more functionality to your right-click menu (like when you right-click something in Explorer), including tweaking file attributes, file extensions and the time stamps of single files, multiple files or files contained within the folders. Freeware. Get it athttp://www.netprosweb.com/pcu_007.htm (nominated by DoG)

OPEN SELECTED URL helps you browse away this way:
1. Select any text on the page (doesn't need to be a link)
2. Right click with the mouse
3. Choose "Open Selected URL" from the context menu
4. A new window will popup with the new url loaded !
Freeware (or Donationsware if you like it). Get it here:http://homepage.ntlworld.com/hiren.t...ads/tools.html (nominated by DoG)

Spell It helps you check your spelling, handles everything you can copy and paste, find out more athttp://www.pcnineoneone.com/tweaks/scripts8.html (nominated by DoG)

Damn nfo-viewerlets you view .nfo and .diz files as they were meant to be viewed. Ok, a texteditor lets you read them but this is alittle different. Freeware, to be retrieved fromhttp://www.damn.to/software (nominated by DoG) Another choice might be GetDiz from outertech athttp://www.outertech.com/index.php?_charisma_page=product&id=4&PHPSESSID=38 7bf8245750e573f04e2cf603bb8577 another freeware util from a nice corner of the Net. (nominated by hanovski)

SnagIt is a capture tool. Capturing something means copying something on the screen and put it at the copyboard. Snagit let's you capture anything you see. $40 seems a little much but it is versatile and good working. Read more athttp://www.techsmith.com/products/snagit/default.asp (nominated by rikytik)

Image-files:
but not pictures. Here I am thinking of a so called image made by means of copying a floppy, harddrive or CD exactly as is. This procedure saves the whole content in one single file. With the right tool you can make a dupe of the original media. Often used for backups or for transferring a floppy over a network.

Daemon-tools is a must. Free, nearly perfect in function and a great timesaver. Daemon-tools lets you run imagefiles as the were read directly from a (or several) extra CD-player. Like this: Make an imagefile of a CD. Put it somewhere at your harddrive. Load it in Daemon-tools and it will emulate a situation as if you actually had mounted a CD in an extra CD-reader. Works over an network. Right away tohttp://www.daemon-tools.cc/portal/index.php (nominated by unicorn)

WinImage is the tool. Make images of CDs or harddrives or floppies. When it comes to make iso-images winimage is still the best. Made by Gilles Vollant, a true aficionado. More info athttp://www.winimage.com (nominated by unicorn)

UltraISO is a nice tool letting you edit single files inside a CD-image. Invaluable for small changes - you don't have to burn the CD, copy it to a harddrive, make the changes and then burn and make a new image... Note: UltraISO (and a similar product named WinISO) are reported to often cause CRC-errors when making an iso-file from a CD. For this task use Winimage. UltraISO:http://www.ezbsystems.com/ultraiso (nominated by ~*McoreD*~)

Norton Ghost is the backup tool par choice. Find out more athttp://www.symantec.com/sabu/ghost/ghost_personal (nominated by unicorn)

Coasters:
Coasters are made at no cost (except for the the price of the media) using the inbuilt CD-burner in XP... You are better off with:

Nero Burning Rom from Ahead software athttp://www.nero.com/en/indexhtml which handles both ordinary CDs and DVDs. Versatile but maybe not exactly priceworthy ($50). (nominated by ~*McoreD*~)

Office:
Open Office fromhttp://www.openoffice.org should do what you need. Here you have to go search for reviews though. The office suits are to big to be fairly described here. Microsoft Office is the de facto standard in the field but will hardly be recommended here. Now this isn't because Ofice is bad or something, but no way it can compete with free software. Microsoft charge just to much and seem unwilling to adjust prices to an affordable level. (nominated by Sephiroth)

Graphics:
?

Audio:
We all like music. There are some tools delivered by m$ and once again: ditch them.

Listening:
Winamp: Oh well. Never fails, never make you disappointed, a lot of addons available, free, close to a perfect application as long as you stay with a version number less than 3. Made by Nullsoft, hijacked by AOL. Head away tohttp://www.winamp.com/ for more. Then take my advise and do not download version 3 from them, but rather 2.91 fromhttp://classic.winamp.com or do a Google search for "winamp 2.92" or "wiamp 2.95".

Editing:
Editing music... A tricky task. No recommendations yet. Not sure it should be here on this list at all. One application is nominated by ~*McoreD*~: Sonic.Foundry.Sound.Forge.v6.0. But now we are talking money, around $400. Here is from the nomination, a cut'n'paste:
Sound Forge is an award-winning digital audio editor that includes a powerful set of audio processes, tools, and effects for recording and manipulating audio. This industry-standard application is perfect for audio editing, audio recording, effects processing, and rich media encoding. Version 6.0 continues to improve on its decade-long legacy by adding features that make it faster and more powerful than ever. Edit files nondestructively down to the sample level with extreme speed and accuracy. Choose from over 35 real-time audio effects and processes with more than 200 presets. Sound Forge 6.0 puts the power of an audio production studio on your PC!
For more information:https://www.sonicfoundry.com/PRODUCT...ct.asp?PID=668

CD-ripping:
There are reasons for ripping a CD. You might rip the tunes you like and make a CD for playing in a car, as a backup, making a CD to bring to a party and such. With today's discussion about RIAA hangin' pirates in the trees and so on it's good to know that most, if not all, countries allow a personal copy for your own joy.

Windows Media Player 9 with WMA9 VBR 98%. No description or pricetag given.(nominated by ~*McoreD*~)

Messengers:
For your everyday chatting, sometimes for more important messages maybe?

Miranda is a multi protocol instant messenger client for Windows. Miranda IM uses very little memory and is extremely fast. It requires no installation and can be fitted on a single floppy disc. Its powerful plugin system makes Miranda IM very flexible. Only the most basic features are built in, but there are currently more than 150 free plugins available for download that allows users to extend the functionality of Miranda IM. (This text was copied and pasted here.) Go tohttp://miranda-im.org/ (nominated by war59312)

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...oh to be continued...
__________________________________________________ _______________

Author's comments:

Thanks goes to the coders, the hackers and of course those that posted belove.
The work is far from done. There is still a need of better descriptions in many cases. There are areas not covered yet. There are suggestions not motivated and so on.

F eks:
Getright is allready recommended. Is Flashget better or more priceworthy?

Above an example of what I mean. Try to motivate why the tool or application you recommend is worthy.

Some areas might need more than one recommendation. Like texteditors as you can see.

Anyway: Please read, post suggestions or post better descriptions. Or ask me why norton firewall isn't recommended...

I hope this will help out, and in some way maybe support newbies and veterans alike. In case it shows up that noone reads it or needs it I hope I'll be told about it - then I'll use the time for other things instead...

And you noted the topic changed name?!

thanks, will try this one :), editing 70 meg text files for our database here in notepad or wordpad can be a pain because they load so slow when you're editing something that big

Yea good idea. They we should have a recommend topic. Locked of course. :)

Here are mine can't do without:

Ad Muncher:

http://www.admuncher.com/download.shtml

Ad Muncher is a program for Windows systems which removes adverts, popups and general browsing annoyances from all popular browsers and web-utilizing programs (as well as most banner displaying and popup generating programs like ICQ, Morpheus, Kazaa, Grokster, Opera, PalTalk, iMesh, Bearshare, LimeWire, etc).

PopUpCop:

http://www.popupcop.com/PopUpCop.exe

PopUpCop is designed to return control of your browsing experience back to you. It does not block all advertisements: it blocks irritating Web site behavior, which is often used for advertisements. Like the ideal of a real police officer, it steps into a volatile situation and uses just enough force to restore calm.

GetRight:

GetRight.com

K-Lite Codec Pack:

http://www.klboard.ath.cx/bb/index.php?showtopic=43801

And a lot more if a topic is started. Really think there should be. Would help out a lot of people.

Meaing the topic is pinned and locked and only updated my mods and admin.

Good list, some i have seen before and some are new to me :) Will give Naviscope a try again now it has reverted back to freeware.

Util's i can't do with out:

PropertiesPlus: Add more functionality to your right-click menu, including tweaking file attributes, file extensions and the time stamps of single files, multiple files or files contained within the folders- Freeware
Get it here :
http://www.netprosweb.com/pcu_007.htm

OPEN SELECTED URL:The Bottom Line :
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No more copy / pasting of URLs from web pages !
1. Select any text on the page (doesn't need to be a link)
2. Right click with the mouse
3. Choose "Open Selected URL" from the context menu
4. A new window will popup with the new url loaded !

Also opens malformed URL's such as _http, hxxp, h**p etc- Freeware or Donationware if you like it
Get it here:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/hiren.t...ads/tools.html

Spell It:Spell Check Any Text Which You Can Highlight And Copy!
Find all about it here:http://www.pcnineoneone.com/tweaks/scripts8.html

There are a few others that are widely available, TweakUI etc but those are the things you can always find on my system :D

EDIT: How could i for get this one!!!
Damn NFO Viewer: View .NFO and .DIZ files as they were meant to be viewed. - Freeware
Get it here : http://www.damn.to/software/

Couldn't live without UltraEdit and SnagIt

EDIT: See Your PM

I haven't tried this one by Mike Lin - but I use and recommend his StartupCpl all the time.

Audio Editing - Sonic.Foundry.Sound.Forge.v6.0

Sound Forge is an award-winning digital audio editor that includes a powerful set of audio processes, tools, and effects for recording and manipulating audio. This industry-standard application is perfect for audio editing, audio recording, effects processing, and rich media encoding. Version 6.0 continues to improve on its decade-long legacy by adding features that make it faster and more powerful than ever. Edit files nondestructively down to the sample level with extreme speed and accuracy. Choose from over 35 real-time audio effects and processes with more than 200 presets. Sound Forge 6.0 puts the power of an audio production studio on your PC!

For more information:https://www.sonicfoundry.com/PRODUCT...ct.asp?PID=668

Browsing - Internet Explorer 6 SP1
CD Burning - Nero Burning ROM 6
CD Image editing - UltraISO 6
CD Mounting - DAEMON Tools 3.33
CD Ripping - Windows Media Player 9 with WMA9 VBR 98% (240kbps ~ 355kbps)
Compressing - WinRAR 3.2

Defragmenting - O&O Defrag 4.0

O&O Defrag V4 Professional Edition - The Desktop Defragmentation For Windows!
The new Professional Edition for Windows workstations allows you to achieve and maintain the highest degree of performance with your Windows workstation. Used in conjunction with Windows NT, Windows 2000, or Windows XP, it puts fragmented files together and maximizes your system speed. Offering five different defragmentation strategies to fulfill a variety of end-user needs, the Professional Edition is the leader in Windows defragmentation software.

Defragmentation software for Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows NT 4
O&O ActivityGuard Pro: Adjustable system load for optimized resource usage
STEALTH technology for optimized defragmentation
Threshold: Automatic defragmentation upon reaching a predefined fragmentation level

O&O Defrag V4 Server Edition - The Enterprise Defragmentation For Windows!
The new Server Edition allows you to optimize your Windows server with Windows NT, Windows 2000, or Windows XP. It includes the new STEALTH technology; the management of server resources is now optimized and freely adjustable, guaranteeing a maximum of critical server availability. The Server Edition comes with a Management Console and includes four additional network tools and allows you to comfortably setup, control, and automate the defragmentation process remotely in an enterprise wide local or global network.

Defragmentation software for Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows NT 4
Management Console for easy deployment and management in company networks
O&O ActivityGuard Pro: Adjustable system load for optimized resource usage
STEALTH technology for optimized defragmentation
Threshold: Automatic defragmentation upon reaching a predefined fragmentation level

DivX Codec Pack - K-Lite Codec Pack 2.04
http://www.kazaalite.tk/

Documents - Office 2003
Downloading - FlashGet 1.40
FTP - FlashFXP 2.1
Image editing - Adobe PhotoShop 7
Instant Messaging - MSN Messenger 6.0
IRC - mIRC 6.03 with dccAssist and AutoGet
Image viewing - ACDSee PowerPack 5
Mail client - Microsoft Outlook 2003
nfo viewer - DAMN nfo Viewer (for files less than 500kb), GetDiz 2.6 (for files larger than 500kb)

P2P - Kazaa Lite K++ 2.4.1
http://www.kazaalite.tk/

Video Editing - Ulead Video Studio 7.0

Web Copy - Meta Products Offline Explorer 2.8

MetaProducts Offline Explorer (OE) is a Windows 9x/ME/NT/2000/XP program that allows you to download an unlimited number of your favorite Web and FTP sites for later offline viewing, editing, browsing. OE also has many web development features that will allow you to easily edit, view, browse or search your downloaded Web pages (OE has a built-in internal browser.) http://www.metaproducts.com/

Very interesting thread. :)

Office Suite

Open Office
http://www.openoffice.org

I'd like to add MyIE2 (browsers)......
http://www.myie2.com/html_en/home.htm

==============================

and I'd like to add a new category : Audio Editing (like WAV, MP3, WMA, Ogg etc.). in that category SoundForge is essential....
http://www.sonicfoundry.com/products...ct.asp?PID=668

==============================

then ofcourse there's FTP tools... but I guess most ppl on this board use FlashFXP
http://www.flashfxp.com/

==============================

On the subject of ImageFiles: UltraISO is a nice tool but (just like WinISO) it always fails a crc-check when making an ISO from CD ! (and I always run a crc check!) ... WinImage is correct 99% of the time.

==============================

On the subject of nfo-viewers: GetDiz
http://www.outertech.com/index.php?_...4e2cf603bb8577

===================================

On the subject of This Thread: I like it ! :D

Um all right. Here are some more I just thought of all the top of my head.

ieSpell - A Spell Checker for Internet Explorer

100% FreeWare And 100% SpyWare Free

ieSpell is a free Internet Explorer browser extension that spell checks text input boxes on a webpage. It should come in particularly handy for users who do a lot of web-based text entry (e.g. web mails, forums, blogs, diaries). Even if your web application already includes spell checking functionality, you might still want to install this utility because it is definitely much faster than a server-side solution. Plus you get to store and use your personal word list across all your applications, instead of maintaining separate ones on each application.

The program installs as a new button in the IE toolbar (as well as a new menu item under "Tools") - after filling in a form, just hit the ieSpell button and it pops up a dialog, similar to the MS Word spell check.

ieSpell is not spyware or adware.
http://www.iespell.com/

WinAmp Version 2

The Best Free MP3 Player!!
http://classic.winamp.com/

Zone Alarm Free 4.0

Hackers lurk everywhere on the Internet, waiting for an "in" into your personal and financial information. Even legitimate Web sites have sophisticated methods of snooping, such as cookies that track your identity and browsing habits. You need nothing less than the industry's best protection?ZoneAlarm Pro. It offers you the award-winning firewall that Zone Labs is famous for. Plus, it stops annoying and potentially malicious cookies and pop-ups from invading your system.
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/conten...nloadTrial.jsp

Norton AntiVirus? 2003 Professional Edition

Symantec's Norton AntiVirus? 2003 Professional Edition combines the world's most trusted antivirus solution* with additional features to protect and recover important files on two PCs. This easy-to-use program removes viruses from email messages and instant-message attachments automatically, without interrupting your work. And automatic updates help defend your PC against new viruses.
http://nct.symantecstore.com/fulfill/0001.67#form

DLL Archive:

Everyone has uninstalled programs at one point or another, just to be presented with that wonderful dialog asking whether or not we want to delete some 'shared' Windows resource... Do we? Does something else use that DLL file it's asking about? Help!!! That's where AnalogX DLL Archive comes in - it searches through all the files on your system and lets you know if any of them contain references to the DLL's in question!

AnalogX DLL Archive is super-simple to use, just click search and let it do it's thing - once done, you'll be presented with a list of all the DLL's that don't have references in the system! Then just select which ones you think aren't necessary anymore and archive them; it's that simple! Make a mistake? No problem, restoring DLL's from the archive is just as simple - nothing is deleted until YOU delete it.
http://www.analogx.com/contents/down...em/dllarch.htm

Trillian Free:

Connect to ICQ®, AIM®, MSN® Messenger, Yahoo!® Messenger and IRC in a single, sleek and slim interface.

Trillian .74 is completely free, with no use limits, no spyware and no ads. 8 Million downloads can't be wrong!
http://www.ceruleanstudios.com/trillian/download.html

Kazaa Lite:

AdFree/ SpyWare Free Version of Kazaa Media Desktop.

Has everything for the best peer-to-peer experience including:

Search for audio/music, documents, image, playlist, software and video files.
Search for premium content.
Share your own files.
Arrange and organize your files.
View/play your audio/music, image, and video files.
Setup and manage playlists.
Monitor download and upload traffic

Just a news update on Kazaa Lite 2.1.1 for those who are wondering when it will finished. All new functionality has been fully implemented and tested. There are only just a few small bugs that have to be fixed in the new KL Extensions. After that it will finally be finished.

Some new things that you can expect in this version:
- Very advanced accelerator fully integrated into the program.
- More advanced Auto Search More.
- Improved previewing capabilities.
- Improved multi-user support.
- File organizer to move downloaded files into subdirectories.

Are you afraid of the entertainment industry? Does your country have stupid copyright laws? You don't share because you are afraid you get caught for doing so? The newest version of Kazaa Lite (2.10 build 3) has got the solution for you! It is now possible to prevent other people from listing your shared files (find more from same user). Go to Options -> More Options. There you can enable the option to prevent people from listing your shared files. There is just one little downside to this, because it may let people think that you are not sharing any files. But for some people privacy is what counts. Enabling the option doesn't mean that you don't share files anymore! People just can't list your shared files anymore. In fact more people should be able to start sharing because of this.
http://doa2.host.sk/

Latest Beta Builds:
http://www.klboard.ath.cx/bb/index.php?showtopic=43801

Messenger Plus!

Messenger Plus! is an add-on for MSN Messenger and Windows Messenger, the two popular Instant Messaging softwares from Microsoft. Messenger Plus! adds different features to Messenger to make it more enjoyable for a regular usage. A list of the main features can be found on the main page of this site (click on the Features tab, next to Overview). Messenger Plus! is not a chat program, it only adds functionalities to Messenger, it can't be used as a standalone application.
http://www.msgplus.net/

Alcohol 120%

Make perfect 1:1 back-ups of CDs, Alcohol 120% is really the ultimate DVD / CD emulation and burning software.

Store your most used or important CDs as images on your computer and run them at 200x speed from up to 31 virtual CD or DVD drives!

Burn more than one CD or DVD at the same time, even from from different sources, using the latest multiple burners technology.

Highest drive compatibility - Alcohol is compatible with more than 99% of drives available and if it doesn't work with your drive we can improve it so let us know!

Bypass the latest "unbreakable" protections using Alcohol Software's state of the art burning and emulation process!

Supports the highest number of possible image file types including - MDS, CCD, BIN, CUE, ISO, CDI, BWT, BWI, BWS, BWA & many more...

Ultra-responsive industry leading support from our team of software experts.
http://www.alcohol-software.com/download.php

Miranda IM

Miranda IM is a multi protocol instant messenger client for Windows. Miranda IM uses very little memory and is extremely fast. It requires no installation and can be fitted on a single floppy disc. Its powerful plugin system makes Miranda IM very flexible. Only the most basic features are built in, but there are currently more than 150 free plugins available for download that allows users to extend the functionality of Miranda IM.
http://miranda-im.org/

SpywareBlaster:

SpywareBlaster doesn't scan and clean for spyware - it prevents it from ever being installed.

By setting a "kill bit" for spyware ActiveX controls, SpywareBlaster can prevent the installation of any spyware ActiveX controls from a webpage. It does this while not interfering with "friendly" ActiveX controls - so your browser can work correctly and you can have peace of mind!

You won't get any more annoying "Yes/No" boxes popped up, asking you to install a spyware ActiveX control (which can increasingly be found in pop-up ads!). In fact, Internet Explorer will never even download or run the spyware ActiveX control!

In addition, SpywareBlaster can prevent many of these spyware ActiveX controls from running, even if they are already installed on your system.*

The newest SpywareBlaster version can even block spyware/tracking cookies!
And SpywareBlaster does not need to be running in the background to provide this protection!

The SpywareBlaster database contains information on these known spyware Active-X controls. Make sure you run the Check For Updates feature frequently to get the latest database! (And make sure you check the new items to protect your system against them!)

SpywareBlaster also provides the exclusive System Snapshot! - Take a snapshot of your computer in its clean state, and use System Snapshot later to revert many changes made by spyware and browser hijackers!

SpywareBlaster System Snapshot works a lot like Microsoft's System Restore for Windows ME/XP - however it exclusively targets items used by spyware and browser hijackers to embed themselves into your system - so you can get the results you want: a spyware-free system.
http://www.wilderssecurity.net/index.html

MRU-Blaster:

Protect your privacy - MRU-Blaster can detect and clean over 25,000 MRU lists and other stores of hidden information on your computer!

MRU-Blaster is an all-new program, made to do one large task - detect and clean MRU (most recently used) lists on your computer. These MRU lists contain information such as the names and/or locations of the last files you have accessed. But they are located ALL OVER your registry, and for almost ANY file type. By looking at these MRU lists, someone could determine what files you opened/saved/looked at, what their file names were, and much more! (And, in many cases, the lists are displayed in drop-down menus automatically.)
http://www.wilderssecurity.net/mrublaster.html

SpywareGuard

SpywareGuard provides a real-time protection solution against spyware that is a great addition to SpywareBlaster's protection method.

An anti-virus program scans files before you open them and prevents execution if a virus is detected - SpywareGuard does the same thing, but for spyware! And you can easily have an anti-virus program running alongside SpywareGuard.

SpywareGuard now also features Download Protection and Browser Hijacking Protection!
http://www.wilderssecurity.net/spywareguard.html

PopFile:

POPFile is an automatic mail classification tool. Once properly set up and trained, it will work in the background of your computer, scanning mail as it arrives and filing it however you wish. You can give it a simple job, like separating out junk e-mail, or a complicated one - like filing mail into a dozen folders. Think of it as a personal assistant for your inbox.

It's free, open source, multi-platform and very cool.
http://popfile.sourceforge.net/

Damn I'm tired. ;)

EDIT: This post is superseeded:

Main post at the top of thread
Last post a bit down...

EDIT: See post above.

Updated, see the very frst post...
Please pay some attention and give me your ingenious reflections.:)

thanks for adding to the open office thing, was in a rush when i posted that

going to pin this while i'm at it

-------------------------------------

for video editing, try tmpgenc
http://www.tmpgenc.net

It can convert most any avi or mpeg to vcd or svcd, and has quite a few video filters to use too, such as deinterlacing, color correction, etc.

--------------------------------------

for a free ftp client, i use smartftp, from
http://www.smartftp.com

it does what an ftp client is supposed to do, upload, download, connect to servers, etc., and you can't argue with the price tag, free :)

--------------------------------------

for comparing two files, i use beyond compare, it's one util. i couldn't live without
http://www.scootersoftware.com

Pinned, oh... Okey, maybe one day it will stand up for that.
Smartftp is allready there, Sephiroth...
And yes, video... of course. Realalt will be there, converters might be a good thing to have, will have to look into this as I'm a novice. My son told me yesterday that I had a DVD-player in my new laptop...:) Now a 15"-screen isn't optimal for looking at "Hair", but it worked, good audioplayback too when i put the earphones on.
Beyond compare will find it's way of course.

1: Changed the name from " A list of good and important utils " too...

2: I'll keep my first post here as the main thing making it easy to find.

3: Please contribute, snd in good suggestions and/or good descriptions or other personal points of view - right here in this thread. I'll watch, read and learn.

cy,

I'd like to add Alcohol 120% to replace Daemon-Tools. It's using the same code and does more. Only it's not FREE like Daemon-Tools. :(

Edit - Sorry I didn't see before that war59312 already posted about Alcohol 120%. I'll add that one of the BIG differences between Daemon and Alcohol is that you can mount more than fake CD-ROM drives at the sametime

Want more information about it, go here:

@KingCobra: 1st: Thank you, and point taken and might be considered. Things in the list should get replaced when better options are available. Please get back with some further description of the advantages of Alcohol 120% that make it worthy getting "Recommended Software", except of using tha same code as a free option... I know you can use it for burning too, but does it replace f eks Nero which you also have to pay money for? Or do end up with a combo of Alcohol and Nero instead of Nero and Daemon-Tools? Whenever possible I strive for a cheap yet good working and versatile setup.

Updated: A good mail-client made it's way into the list.

Updated: http://www.betaone.net/index.php?sho...0&#entry160887

1. Sorted in Alphabetical order
2. Added more types.

Cheers,
McoreD

Hi .unicorn, yes I will add links to the software when I get more time. Sorry I am not able to do it now. :)

Thank you ~*McoreD*~.
Some of your nominations are considered ok, others are not. It's nice to have a "own" topic and deciding things....:) Might have a few polls later though.

Suggestions are welcome, all the time. Please note: Suggestions without links or a single word motivating why they should be considered "Recommended Software" here are most often not making it into the list. I allready have obstacles enough draining me of energy.

List updated again.

I'm leaving this thread now. This is of course due to the lack of interest shown. Doing this in a good way takes time and time is always a matter of making priorities. Doing it in a less ambitious way isn´t interestening to me.
Oh well, it started with an ideea and now I have tried it.
I won't mention names here, just want to say thanks! to you who contributed!